


The Wayne Family Gathering

by Quinis



Series: BatClan Age Reverse TT [5]
Category: DCU, Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Gen, Teen Titans in Gotham
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-03-24
Packaged: 2018-03-13 00:50:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3361661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinis/pseuds/Quinis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>"I was hoping you'd say that." Red X threw something on the ground and only then did Robin realise how close they had gotten.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>He coughed and tried not to breathe in but it was too late. His head grew light-head and his eyes rolled up as his legs gave way.</em>
</p><p> Every year, Bruce Wayne holds a Charity Function where members of his family are expected to make an appearance. For three years, Dick has refused to go, claiming that he's too busy with the Teen Titans as Robin.<br/> Bruce has respected that. His oldest son, Damian, doesn't. <br/> Damian hires a certain anti-hero/villain to kidnap Robin and bring him to Gotham.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Red X kidnaps Robin

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: This is another Teen Titans age reverse story. A multi-chapter one where the Teen Titans are introduced to Robin's Gotham family. It's placed after the movie 'Trouble in Tokyo'. This story should explain a little more about the lives of the other Bat Clan members.

**The Wayne Family Gathering**

**Part 1 - Red X kidnaps Robin**

* * *

**Bat Clan Ages:**

Damian Wayne (Son of the Bat), 27

Jason Todd (Red X – Jump City), 18

Dick Grayson (Robin), 16

* * *

They returned from Tokyo and parked the T-ship before soldiering out. Robin and Starfire wandered out, hand in hand, before heading into Robin's room and curling up in the bed together. They left the door open and Beast Boy snickered as he dragged his suitcase past. Raven teleported everything to her room and went to make tea before bed.

Cyborg jumped out of the driver's seat and plugged in to charge, his bags left in the T-ship.

All was quiet. Under the cover of darkness, an even darker figure slipped into the tower.

Up the elevator and down the hall. He slipped through an open door.

He paused at the sight of the orange woman in purple curled around a red and green figure. He didn't know whether to praise the guy for finally landing the alien chick or sigh at the sight of the black mask over his eyes.

The red and green figure moved with slow and controlled movements.

"It's okay," Robin cooed as Starfire moved. He carefully and with the grace of a trained acrobat, moved over her and onto the floor.

Red X waited until he had been pulled down the hall before speaking.

"Well, that was an interesting sight," he mused with a smile. "When did you two hook up?"

Robin placed his hands on his hips and frowned.

"Not going to answer, huh?" Red X taunted. "That's fine. I'm not here because of that."

"Why are you here?" Robin asked, his voice flat but with a hint of a grumble.

"I've been sent," Red X said, throwing his hands out dramatically. "A certain someone, okay, a lot of certain someones, want you to come to a certain charity function in Gotham."

"Robin doesn't go to charity functions in Gotham."

Red X tilted his head.

"Not Robin."

"Oh, I didn't realise." Robin's face lit up before going completely flat. "No."

"No, what?"

"No. I'm not going."

"You refuse?" There was a certain joy in Red X's voice which made Robin cautious. However, he really didn't want to spend time in a tux and mingling with people who had more money than sense.

"I refuse."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Red X threw something on the ground and only then did Robin realise how close they had gotten.

He coughed and tried not to breathe in but it was too late. His head grew light-head and his eyes rolled up as his legs gave way.

* * *

Red X was glad that there were air filters built into his mask. He grabbed Robin's unconscious form before it hit the ground.

"Really should thank the little bat for giving me something which works on little birds," he muttered in a slightly sarcastic manner as he hefted Robin over his shoulder. Even a tiny sixteen year old was still a sixteen year old and Robin felt like all elbows and knees.

He dragged Robin downstairs and out of the tower, where a small and black two-seater car was waiting. He slid Robin into the passenger-side seat and slipped into the driver's seat.

At Robin's feet was a bag containing civvies for both Red X and Robin. Son of the Bat had thought of everything when hiring Red X to kidnap Robin from the tower.

* * *

Starfire awoke, cold and alone. She scanned the room, expecting to see Robin sitting at his laptop and typing away but there was no one.

"Robin?" she questioned sitting up. She wondered if he was already awake. She had been tired the previous night so it wouldn't be unusual if Robin had woken up first.

"Good morning friends!" she called out as she entered the common room. The smells and light of the tower and sea beyond were a welcome sight after their time in Tokyo.

It was home.

"Mornin' Starfire," Cyborg greeted cheerfully as he filled the room with the scent of sizzling meat.

"How's Robin?" Beast Boy asked in the tone which Raven had told Starfire was 'idiotic' but Starfire wondered if she meant 'suggestive' instead.

"I do not appreciate your assumptions, Beast Boy," she said, making her eyes glow as she looked down at the fifteen year old.

"Eep. Sorry, Star."

"Wait. Is Robin not here?"

"We thought he was with you," Raven said, having been listening from the couch.

Starfire shook her head and explained he had been gone when she awoke. Beast Boy scrambled while Cyborg pulled up the previous night's security footage.

They watched as Robin and Red X appeared in the hall and started talking.

"No sound?" Starfire questioned, her heart racing as she saw Red X get closer to Robin.

"No. But, Robin's saying no there," Cybrog pointed out with a frown.

"He's not happy," Beast Boy said.

"Would you be?" Raven asked rhetorically.

"Robin!" Starfire cried out. On the screen, Red X released some kind of gas which knocked Robin out. Starfire's heart when still and cold as she watched Red X take her boyfriend away.

"Starfire, Raven, search the city. I'll stay here and try and figure out where they've gone. Beast Boy, see if there's any trail leaving the tower."

"Got it!" Beast Boy saluted Cyborg before bounding away in the form of a wolf.

"We'll find him," Cyborg assured Starfire as Raven got ready to leave.

* * *

Dick couldn't feel the constrictions of his uniform or the mask over his face. The last thing he remembered was talking to Red X.

"Maybe it wasn't a complete waste in hiring you."

"Coming from you, that's a complement. Not that I care."

Dick opened his eyes and looked at the older teen in the driver's seat. The white stripe in his dark fringe stood out.

"Jason." Dick glanced at the screen built into the console of the car. A familiar face was also shown on the screen. "Damian. Should I be worried?"

"Oh, you should be very worried, little brother."

He was.

"Todd, there's a no-harm clause in our agreement."

But not because he thought they would hurt him. Oh no. It's because of where they were going.

"I want my uniform back," Dick ordered. He tugged at the seatbelt but it didn't move. Some of the safest car technology in the world and it was keeping him from escaping.

"No dice."

"Sorry, Grayson. Father had requested your presence at this year's Wayne Charity Ball."

"Requested?" Dick questioned sceptically. He really doubted that Bruce had anything to do with this.

Batman would have collected him if he did. Not Jason as Red X.

"He grumbled and attached himself to the computer for hours after Alfred asked whether you were coming."

"What about Jay?"

"Jay-son," Jason sounded out for him in a scolding tone. "It's not that hard to say, Dickey-bird."

"Don't call me that!" The seatbelt still refused to give as Dick pushed and pulled against it. "I want my uniform back! And my mask!"

"Sit still!" Jason ordered, swerving to avoid a stop sign as he tricked to keep his little brother from hurting himself.

"What about my friends?"

"The Teen Titans can handle a few days without you," Damian pointed out. "You must have trained them to operate without Robin acting as leader. Now, Todd is bringing you to me at Wayne Tower. There are spare uniforms here as well as clothes which you will wear to the ball."

"I don't suppose you have a spare room for me too?" Jason asked with a smirk.

"Would you use it?"

A snort.

"No. Besides, I've got a place to stay."

"I must go. I'll be monitoring the car tracker for when it reaches Wayne Tower."

Damian hung up and Jason looked over at the sulking sixteen year old.

"For whatever it's worth, I don't envy you for having to cater to the rich and clueless of Gotham. I'm glad I get a miss. But, we've started a little 'tradition' of meeting up after the party and it feels like we're missing someone."

"Why are you going?" Dick wanted to know.

"I'm not going," Jason insisted, "I'm just delivering you."

"Lucky me," Dick grumbled. With a huff, he turned to look out at the passing scenery. Maybe he would be able to escape back to Jump once Jason drops him off.

* * *

 _ **Deleted scene** \- deleted because I thought Dick was a little too out of character for the Leader of the Teen Titans, but it's a good few lines so I'm posting it here_ :

"Don't call me that!" The seatbelt still refused to give as Dick pushed and pulled against it. "I want my uniform back! And my mask!"

"Sit still!" Jason ordered, swerving to avoid a stop sign as he tricked to keep his little brother from hurting himself.

"You can't take Robin from me!  _Please_!"

"Grayson! Stop acting like a child! You will injure yourself!"

"We aren't going to take Robin from you! Now sit back." Jason was breathing heavily from the strain and Dick felt a little guilty as he curled up in the seat and sulked.


	2. Videos and Pizza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We can make this a thing."  
> "What thing?" Damian said, his shoulders slouching and his expression pained.  
> "This! Pizza, movies and your little brothers! Although, we seem to be missing two."

**Part 2 – Videos and Pizza**

* * *

Damian Wayne (Son of the Bat), 27

Stephanie Brown (Oracle II), 21

Timothy Drake (Red Robin), 21

Jason Todd (Red Hood – Gotham), 18

Dick Grayson (Robin), 16

* * *

In Jump City, Starfire and Raven could not find any trace of Red X or Robin.

Beast Boy found a trail. Tire tracks heading away from the tower. He attempted to track them and deduced that they were leaving Jump City.

Cyborg checked the security video again. Even though he couldn't tell what they were saying, he had been able to make out one word. Maybe he was just hoping that Robin would leave them some kind of hint. Lip reading was only 30% accurate after all.

But, the thought he could make out the name of a certain city;

_Gotham._

"Why would Red X take Robin there?" Starfire questioned, her face drawn in worry. She had her hands clutched to her chest where they flickered with her righteous fury. She needed to direct that to the one who had taken Robin and not her friends.

"We're going after him, right?" Beast Boy asked, seeing the frown on Cyborg's face.

"Titans East is down a member since Speedy's taken off and I can't get Kid Flash on the line. Aqualad says they can handle it if we need to go but, this is  _Gotham_  we're talking about."

"So?" Raven asked.

"Gotham is home of the Batman. And Batman doesn't like Metas in his city."

"We can use the holo-rings, can we not?" Starfire suggested.

"We're just going to find Robin," Beast Boy added, "it's not like we're going to fight the Joker or anything."

Cyborg really hoped they wouldn't meet the Joker. What he had heard was more than enough reason to avoid crime fighting in Gotham.

"Alright. I'll get the holo-rings running and camouflage the T-car. Pack light team, we're going in to find Robin and that's it."

"What about Red X?" Starfire asked.

"We'll fight him if we have to but, Robin is going to be our main goal. As awesome as Batman is, I don't want to get caught trespassing in his city."

"Agreed," Beast Boy said, although he bounced out of the room, shifting from a bird to a kangaroo to a cheater a little too excited about this.

* * *

Tim Drake looked up at the tap at his window. An odd thing, considering he lived near the top of a multi-story building. However, he knew some very odd people and the one currently waving at him tended to visit at times.

"Need some information?" Tim asked as he opened the door to the balcony where Red Hood was standing. The eighteen year old snorted as he pulled off his hood and mask.

"More like, I need a place to crash. Mind if I take your sofa?"

Tim shrugged and told him to go ahead while watching the younger ex-Robin's every move for some hint of why he was here.

Jason curled up around his hood and closed his eyes, ignoring Tim's presence in favour of sleep.

* * *

Dick sat on the couch with his arms crossed and trying not to enjoy the movie playing out in front of him. He was constantly reminding himself that Damian and Jason had pulled him away from the Teen Titans without his permission.

Damian had ordered them something to eat and was doing push ups on the floor with a grim frown on his face while he waited for the food to arrive. Dick had been plotting a way to escape but it was difficult. Damian wouldn't leave him alone for a moment.

Dick had tried to sneak off when Damian ordered the food but, Damian had caught him. He had sat on Dick's back while he ordered on the stupid cordless phone.

"If you don't let me leave, then you're keeping me prisoner here," Dick pointed out.

"You're my sixteen year old little brother and this is a penthouse."

"So? I'm emancipated, an adult in the eyes of the law."

Damian rolled his eyes.

"Really, Grayson? Who pays for your fancy tower?"

"Charitable donations, merchandising, some advertising because Starfire enjoys modelling while Cyborg has a few patents which earn him tidy sums often used in upgrading the tower. Wayne Enterprises may have provided start-up costs however, we have paid back the company what was owed and more."

Damian paused to consider that for a moment.

"Really?" This time he was interested and not sarcastic.

Dick nodded.

"How does that work?" Damian asked, grabbing his laptop so Dick could show him the budget.

"I bring pizza!" A cheerful voice greeted from the entrance before Stephanie wheeled into view.

Damian took the pizzas off her lap, scolding her for taking their food. Dick saw it as taking the hot boxes off her lap so she didn't injure herself, not that Damian would admit it.

"What are you doing here, Brown?" Damain demanded to know.

"I noticed that you ordered pizza and decided to come join you, of course!" Stephanie responded with a smile. Her sharp eyes spotted Dick who hadn't been able to look away from her wheelchair. "What do you think?" she asked him, wheeling back and forth. "I spoke to Bruce about putting in some jets and lasers and things but he didn't want to hear it."

"Lasers are impractical. A taser on the other hand…"

"We've been through this, I'm not trusting you to turn my chair into an electric chair. A flying chair, yes. An electric one, no. Never."

"-tt-"

Dick knew that Stephanie had been shot a year after the Teen Titans formed. The Joker had shot her when she opened the door at Commissioner Gordon's house. Stephanie had been there tutoring Barbara. The Joker shot her and she lost the use of her legs.

Dick had been so wrapped up in Slade that he hadn't thought to come back to Gotham when he heard the news. But, now he was standing before Steph in the chair, it hit him how much she had given up.

Steph had loved jumping over rooftops. She had been so dedicated to the life that she hadn't even stopped when Batman had ordered her to. Batman had threatened to give the police her identity, if she didn't stop 'dressing up' and calling herself Batgirl.

Steph had changed her name to 'Spoiler' and kept going, even handing the 'Batgirl' costume and name to Cassandra Cain, Bruce's newest acquisition at the time.

Dick looked at the ground as Steph wheeled over. She took a look at the screen and then at his expression.

"Don't worry about it," she said, slapping him on the back. "I got your card and you're here now, it's all good."

"You're in my penthouse, this is hardly 'good'," Damian grumbled.

"Should I call Colin?" Steph asked, "we can make this a thing."

"What thing?" Damian said, his shoulders slouching and his expression pained.

"This! Pizza, movies and your little brothers! Although, we seem to be missing two."

"No we're not," Damian said.

"Well, whatever," Steph said, ignoring Damian, "we'll make do without them and invite them next time."

"Next time?" Dick questioned.

"Yes! There will be a next time before you go back Jump. Or are you staying? Don't tell me something happened with Starfire." Steph pressed forward and Dick flushed at the mention of his girlfriend. "You looked so happy in Tokyo."

"Tokyo?"

"How do you know about that?" Dick squeaked, his heart thudding. Steph had seen it! And probably forward it to everyone in the family. Except Damian since he didn't seem to know.

"Google 'Teen Titans in Tokyo', it's like the first thing to come up," Steph told Damian, "along with a bunch of pictures of Beast Boy belting out tunes."

"Yeah. That happened."

"So, you must tell me about it," Steph said, rolling over next to the recliner. She gave it a pat, indicating for Dick to sit there. It was then that Dick realised Damian had removed the rug which had been placed in the living room area. And the coffee table had been pushed up against the wall, leaving plenty of space between the couch, recliner and TV.


	3. Welcome to Gotham

**Part 3 - Welcome to Gotham**

* * *

Timothy Drake-Wayne (Red Robin), 21

Jason Todd (Red Hood – Gotham), 18

Cassandra Cain (Black Bat), 18

Barbara Gordon (Batgirl III), 16

* * *

Beast Boy yawned and stretched. His feet hit something squishy. He curled his toes and was blown out of the car.

A raven's screech sounded and Raven herself manifested right before him. Behind her, those in the T-car began to awake.

"Raven, don't kill him," Cyborg rumbled from the driver's seat after winding down the window.

"Friends, why the violent awakening?" Starfire mumbled, rubbing her eyes and climbing out of the passenger side. She stretched her hands up to the sky and winced as she worked kinks out of her back.

Cyborg climbed out and loosened up his parts and body.

"Ugh, I ain't ever sleeping in my baby again."

"At least you weren't sleeping next to a restless groper of a shapeshifter," Raven growled, moments away from doing demon-spawn mode.

"Can we resume the search for Robin now?" Starfire asked.

Cyborg shook his head. They had reached Gotham late the previous night and were nowhere near ready to walk right into the city. Instead, the team vote went in favour of sleep.

Cyborg had a feeling that would never happen again. Sleeping in a car, even one as nice as his baby, outside Gotham's borders was not an experience he wanted to repeat.

"First we look for a place to stay and then we search," Cyborg informed them.

They all nodded. No way where they sleeping in the car again.

* * *

Red Hood ignored the wailing of the drug dealer he shot in the foot. And the shoulder. It was just two bullet wounds, clean through and the guy was wailing like he was being tortured.

Red Hood was seriously regretting not shooting him dead.

Batgirl, dressed in black with a yellow bat across her chest, landed behind the drug dealer and knocked him out in one hit.

"You didn't kill him," the sixteen year old crime fighter mused, "why?"

"What do you care?" Red Hood snorted. Batgirl gave him a level look, her red hair brightening in the movement. "Maybe I just didn't feel like it."

Or maybe Red X was rubbing off him more than he thought. The Red X mindset he created had been more light-hearted and fun to play. He didn't kill criminals and he just messed around with the 'heroes' in Jump City. Sometimes he even helped them; it messed with the leader-bird's head. Plus, the money from the stuff he stole was enough to live off.

Red Hood shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts.

Batgirl called out as he let loose a line and escaped to a few buildings away. He started towards his safe house but stopped when he noticed a flash of red and black on a nearby roof.

"What do you want?" he asked, crossing his arms and glaring down at the older vigilante.

Red Robin, domino mask betraying nothing, tilted his chin up in defiance.

"I thought you'd want to know that my couch is free," he said.

"You kidding? I'm going to my safe house," Jason responded. He kept his gun in his hand as he spoke, not really pointing it at anything and mostly angled towards the ground for safety.

Red Robin pressed his lips into a thin line.

"Safe house, of course," he sighed like it should have been obvious. "Can I at least know why you're in Gotham?"

Red Hood tucked his gun under his chin, like he was thinking. A moment later, he said, "nope," and chuckled.

"Fine. But I haven't heard anything which would interest you and the Joker is still in Arkham so there's no reason for you to be in Gotham, especially with the Wayne Charity event coming up."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Red Hood demanded to know.

Red Robin gave a knowing smirk.

"This time last year, you made sure you were almost literally on the other side of the world and the year before that, we didn't even know you were alive."

"Uh-huh. So?"

Red Robin twitched and he considered hitting his head against a brick wall. It would be easier than this.

"There must be a reason you're in Gotham now instead of as far away as you can get."

"Well, when you put it that way, I'm leaving tonight."

"Tonight is the event."

"Then, I'm leaving now." Actually, the plan was to hide away in his safe house since Damian's request had placed him in the city at this time.

But he wasn't going to tell Red Robin that.

* * *

Cyborg went with Raven to book them into a hotel. He grumbled about the dent it was going to make in their budget but Raven refused to stay in any place that was not clean.

Beast Boy and Starfire started out walking around the city, trying to figure out how to find Robin.

"It's easy, find the criminals and find Robin," Beast Boy said.

Starfire, in her dark-haired, human green-eyed and light skinned disguise, frowned.

Beast Boy scratched at his blond-disguised hair and his green eyes darted around.

"How do you propose we find the criminals?" Starfire asked, crossing her arms.

Beast Boy pointed at a bar, the sign tilted and mean looking people walking in and out.

"Over there!"

Starfire didn't like the idea but it was the only one they had. She nodded and they went inside.

The place was dark and bright lights lit up patches where tables and the bar were. Perhaps Beast Boy had chosen well, because no one told the obviously underage teen to leave. The plan hadn't been thought through because the first few people they asked about Robin shushed them and insulted and mentioned something about 'the Bat' and how he could hear it when you said his name, like a Bloody Mary.

Starfire had no idea what a 'Bloody Mary' was so Beast Boy sat her down and he, along with anyone who wanted to add something to the urban legend, which was everyone around them, explained. Starfire was polite and thanked everyone, leading into conversation about other things and soon, she and Beast Boy were surrounded by thugs and suits who were telling them stories and keeping them entertained.

"What brings you two to Gotham, hey?" one of them, a man with tattoo sleeves and a shiny bald head asked.

"We're looking for a friend of ours!" Beast Boy said quickly, so that Starfire didn't reveal that they were looking for Robin. He had a feeling it wouldn't go down well with this crowd. "Right?"

Starfire nodded.

"He was taken by the Red X."

"The who?" the group questioned, looking around.

"Red X," Starfire repeated.

"We're from Jump City," Beast Boy added and there were 'ahs' and nods all around.

"You tracked your friend here?" the first man asked.

They nodded.

One of the men whistled, this one was wearing a hat indoors which shadowed his features.

"We don't know anythin' about this Red X fellow but perhaps da Red Hood?"

"The Red Hood?" Starfire questioned, her tone making it obvious that she didn't know who he was.

There were grumbles around the group and a few complained about injuries the Red Hood gave them when he went after their ex-bosses.

Starfire was about to ask more when the window shattered.

* * *

Black Bat had been performing her regular patrol before the event when she encountered a man attacking a woman. She swooped down and knocked him away from her and through the window of a nearby bar. A glance back at the woman; scared, relieved, she would run to safety soon, and she jumped in after the man.

Curses greeted her appearance.

"It's Black Bat!"

"Bat Raid! Bat Raid!" was shouted throughout the building as the people in the bar escaped or pulled out a weapon. Not many were willing to take on the Black Bat though, not if there wasn't a payday on the cards.

She swiftly took them down. As she did, she noticed two others watching. A teenager with blond hair and a young woman with dark hair. Their body language was not tense or shocked at the presence of a vigilante, like most people would be.

They were upset yes, but also amazed and even glad to see her. They were not scared like hostages.

"Who are you?" she asked them.


	4. Events

**Part 4 – Events**

* * *

Damian Wayne (Son of the Bat), 27

Cassandra Cain (Black Bat) 18

Dick Grayson (Robin) 16

* * *

Dick didn't want to go. Damian was grateful for Alfred's quick visit earlier, if only because Dick wouldn't be dressed to go without the loyal butler.

"Come on, Grayson. Stop acting like a child. I brought you here so I wouldn't have to suffer through another one of these functions alone."

Dick didn't respond. He was sitting on a chair, facing the wall and not moving. It was unnerving to see the usually energetic acrobat still, not that Damian would show it.

"That Gordon woman is going to be there."

No response.

Damian decided to forget the niceties. He grabbed Dick by the waist and placed him over his shoulder.

Dick kicked and tried to wriggle out but Damian kept his hold. Grayson wasn't trying to injure him, just shock, so he wasn't going to let him go.

"Perhaps it is time to fix the rift between you and father," Damian said as the elevator went down towards the lobby, "if you are going to act like this at the thought of seeing him."

"…it's not that…" It was said softly and Damian almost missed it.

"Then, what is it?"

"I just don't want to see him," Dick said, closing off again.

"Well, too bad." Sure enough, waiting in the black car outside was Bruce Wayne, dressed to the nines and ready to play 'Brucie'. Damian didn't even hesitate to drop Dick down next to him before getting in and closing the door.

Alfred engaged the locks.

Dick sat back and crossed his arms, a displeased frown on his face. His actions were mirrored by the man beside him. Damian propped an arm against the window and stared at them, waiting for whatever would happen.

Dick felt like he was at an intervention.

"Dick."

"Bruce."

"When did you return to Gotham?"

"A while ago."

"Be precise."

"None of your business."

"Want to tell me what happened when a certain orange and black dressed teenager stole from Jump City's branch of Wayne Enterprises?"

Damian glared at his father. He had said he wouldn't bring that up. Dick, no Robin, had uploaded a report on that to the Bat Computer, explaining why he did what he did and that everything had been resolved.

Batman, actually Bruce, had been furious that Robin had only explained because it concerned his company. He had been frustrated, frustrating and difficult to work with for days, almost expecting everyone to follow his lead with no instruction.

Red Hood could probably sense when Batman was at his worst because he had appeared in Gotham a few days later. When everything concerning Red Hood's latest crime spree, where surprisingly no one had died although there had been a tense moment when Red Hood had his gun pointed right at a drug dealer's chest, had been resolved, Batman had almost been back to normal.

"Sure, their security sucked," Dick responded confidently, his stoic expression becoming a smile. This Bruce couldn't mimic however, the corner of his mouth did turn up a little.

Damain was confused as the tension in the car dissipated. In the rear view mirror, Alfred's eyebrows went up.

"Hn. And how was Tokyo?" Bruce asked. "You were chasing Saico-Tek and Brushogun, right?"

"Yeah. Turns out Brushogun was a victim. He sent the first Saico-Tek to our tower so that we would come to Tokyo and help him."

"First Saico-Tek?" Alfred inquired mildly.

Dick looked at his hands, his nose crinkling.

"It's a messy story."

"Hn."

"Tt." Damian wanted to ask what was going on between Grayson and his father since they were acting like the fight three years ago hadn't happened. However, he didn't ask. As the son of Batman, he should be able to figure it out himself.

"I'm sure it is, sir."

"Do I have to come to this?" Dick asked Bruce, tugging at his tie. Bruce reached over and straightened it and the rest of his suit which had been slightly rumpled by his theatrics with Damian earlier.

"Dick Grayson hasn't made a public appearance in years and there are unsavoury rumours which refuse to vanish. You're here, so you're making an appearance.

"And I did send you an email requesting your presence which you ignored. So I must say that I'm surprised you're here," Bruce commented after a pause.

Dick glared at Damian.

"Ah," Bruce commented, the lines at the corners of his mouth deepening as his mouth twitched up. Now he knew who was the mastermind behind Dick's appearance in Gotham.

* * *

Starfire examined the woman standing before them. She was wearing black from her neck down and a bat symbol across her chest. Her cape sported a tattered look, matching with her pointed domino mask and her short, smooth dark hair.

"Your symbol," Beast Boy said, pointing to her chest. "Are you with Batman?"

"I am." She pointed to herself. "Call me Black Bat." Her movements were fluid as she walked over to Starfire and Beast Boy. "You are children. Why here?"

"We're looking for a friend of ours," Starfire said, feeling hopeful. This hopefulness was conveyed to Black Bat by her body language.

Beast Boy's body language was more cautious. Black Bat noticed the lie in his cheerful demeanour. He was smiling, hopeful too but his eyes skimmed over her and the men on the ground, uncertain and not fully trusting. He was guarded and protective as he stood half a step in front of Starfire.

He reminded her a little of Dick, her little brother. Especially of when Dick first came to them.

"I see. Your friend...?"

A shared glance. Starfire wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging herself while Beast Boy frowned and placed an arm on hers.

They were hesitant. They didn't want to tell her. Beast Boy looked at her with big eyes, protective and unwilling to hurt her.

"...stupid bats..." One of the men grunted, "should be at the Wayne thing."

Black Bat froze. Did he know? No; a random street gang member wouldn't know their secret identities.

"What do you mean?" Starfire asked, lifting the man up and placing him in a chair. When he started to struggle, he hadn't realised they were still there, Beast Boy transformed into a snake and wrapped himself around his waist while Starfire held his arms down and floated where he couldn't kick her.

The holograms protecting their identities switched off, as Cyborg had programmed them to do in the event that either of them used their powers.

"Teen Titans," Black Bat stated, surprised although her body language didn't show it.

There was only one person who could go missing to lead the Teen Titans to Gotham.

Robin. Her little brother.

"The Wayne Charity event!" the gang member said, shivering as he faced down glowing green eyes and orange skin. "Word on the street is there's going to be an attack!"

"An attack?" Starfire questioned, frowning. "Why?"

"Why not? Wayne's big money and this is one of the only events where he's guaranteed to make an appearance. Even his little brood go!"

Beast Boy squeezed until the man fell unconscious and then transformed back, green skin almost camouflaging him.

"If there is to be an attack, we must provide assistance!" Starfire said.

"We should warn this 'Wayne' guy," Beast Boy agreed.

"Your friend?" Black Bat reminded them.

"If 'the Bats' are going to be there like he said, then perhaps we can enlist Batman's help in finding Robin," Starfire said.

Beast Boy's eyes skimmed over to Black Bat and she nodded.

"I will help," she said.

* * *

One room for all four of them. Cyborg was not looking forward to explaining this to Starfire and Beast Boy and he was most certainly not looking forward to sharing one of the two beds with the latter.

Not after seeing Beast Boy's room. Not after Raven's testimony about how he had been while sleeping in the T-car.

Cyborg wondered if he could use the excuse of his recharging equipment being bulky to force the green bean to sleep on the floor.

Raven was as pleased as Raven could be when they had been to four places before finding this one. She sat on the bed and drew her legs up under her to meditate.

"Azarath, Metrion-" her chant was cut off as her T-communicator rang.

Starfire's and Beast Boy's undisguised faces popped up with someone dark hovering in the background.

"Raven, Cyborg, we have trouble!" Starfire said.

"Star, what did I say about staying on the down low while in Gotham?" Cyborg said before her words registered. "What? Trouble?"

"Some guy called Wayne is holding a, what was it again?" Beast Boy scratched his head, tongue lolling out as he tried to recall.

"The Annual Wayne Charity Ball," the dark figure supplied. "It's fundraising for a children's orphanage as well as the Wayne Foundation."

"Right! And there's going to be an attack!"

"By who?" Cyborg asked. "And who is that?"

"That is the Black Bat," Black Bat nodded her greetings to them as Starfire continued, "and we don't know."

"Can you get to the event and warn Mr. Wayne?" Beast Boy asked.

"We will try and meet you there however the Black Bat wishes to see if we can gather more information first. Please hurry friends."

Cyborg nodded and the call ended.

"What about Robin?" Raven asked.

"You know Starfire. She told us to hurry. If she thinks this is more important, then it must be big."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: I wanted to post this chapter yesterday but it still wasn't finished. Cyborg's scene hadn't been written and I wanted to add a little more to Dick and Bruce's part. Let me sum up their relationship as 'It's complicated' - Dick and Bruce are alright with each other for now but Batman and Robin aren't (and while Dick doesn't separate the two like Batman/Bruce does, he is willing to forget over time how tough it can be to work with Batman until he has to work with him again). There will be more on that later.


	5. Charity

**Part 5 - Charity**

* * *

Damian Wayne (Son of the Bat), 27

Colin Wilkes (Abuse), 25

Timothy Drake (Red Robin), 21

Jason Todd (Red Hood - Gotham), 18

Cassandra Cain (Black Bat), 18

Barbara Gordon (Batgirl III), 16

Dick Grayson (Robin), 16

* * *

Dick trailed along behind Bruce and Damian as Damian talked about what was happening with the company and Bruce was pretended it all went over his head as he scanned the crowd.

Standing off to the side, looking awkwardly out of place and enraptured by the extravagance around him, was a priest from St. Aden's Orphanage with shocking red hair.

"Father Colin Wilkes," Bruce greeted. Colin looked up and clutched his orange juice to his chest.

"Mr. Wayne." Colin smiled at Damian. "Hey, cool party."

"Tt, you only think that because you weren't forced to come," Damian responded. Colin laughed and then turned to look at Dick.

"Dick. I've seen the work you've been doing with your friends, good job kiddo."

Dick smiled shyly at Colin. He didn't know what to make of Damian's oldest, and some would argue only, friend. The man was faithful, strong and had morals which few others in his position possessed. He had been the one to get the heroes don't kill message through to Damian and one of the few beginning supporters of Damian's work on the streets as Son of the Bat.

It probably helped that Son of the Bat sometimes teamed up with Abuse, Colin's hero alter-ego, and that they traded information and supplies.

"How's the orphanage?" Damian asked.

Colin smirked at his friend. He knew why Damian was so invested in the orphanage.

"We sold Son of Batcow to a nice farm and Daughter of Batcow is much loved among the children. Speaking of the children, I've got a bag of letters and gifts to give you from them."

"Great," Damian sighed sarcastically. But Colin knew that he would read each and every letter and write each of the children a reply he would personally deliver as Damian, Father Wilkes friend with the leather jacket and motorcycle. Colin wondered if any of the children realised that the adult they saw as a cool older uncle, was Bruce Wayne's oldest child who had a reputation for being conservative and at times scathing.

* * *

Timothy Drake adjusted his glasses and tried to ignore the group of women gossiping about him. So far he had spotted Lucius Fox chatting away to some shareholders, Selina slipping in and out of dances and a red-haired woman who introduced herself as Paula Irving and asked him for a dance while trying to gather information on Bruce Wayne and where the money from these things went.

That had not been pleasant, which was par for the course at these sorts of gatherings. But they were good places to gather information and gather allies and goodwill.

Tim almost ran right into Damian and Colin.

"Drake," Damian sneered while Colin just nodded a polite 'hello'.

Tim looked at Colin's thin and tall frame and spent a moment amazed that his man fought crime as the bulky and immovable Abuse. He may have been taller than Tim but he was certain he could take the older man down.

"Don't even think about it, Drake," Damain said.

"What do you want, Damian?" Tim sighed, looking up into dark eyes. At least the man was relaxed, judging by his shoulders and the loose grip on his glass of wine.

Damian's eyes narrowed and it looked like he was going to make a scathing comment when Colin interrupted.

"We're looking for Dick," Colin said.

Tim's eyes went wide.

"Dick? He's here?"

"I invited him," Damian informed him.

"Mr. Wayne went off to see if Ms. Kyle wanted to dance and we turned our backs for a second and then he was gone," Colin said.

"Dick's here?" Tim questioned again.

"Yes. Do keep up, Drake."

"Well, I guess that explains why Roy and Wally are here," Tim mused, remembering the two red-heads who had stood just outside of the crowd, whispering to each other and laughing.

"Harper and West? Who invited them?" Damian's face was thunderous and Colin nudged him in the side before anyone could notice the resemblance to a certain terrifying vigilante.

"Don't know." Timothy thought about it for a moment and decided to tell Damian, "Red Hood's also in Gotham. Think it means something?"

Damian's hand clenched the glass a little tighter.

"'Course not. You're thinking too hard, Drake."

* * *

Starfire used her flight to help her leap across rooftops while Beast Boy flew beside her. Black Bat had already tried to go in contact with Batman but told them that he wasn't answering.

They hadn't been able to find out any more information, in fact there didn't seem to be much information hanging around. The man they questioned only thought they would be there because he had a friend unable to hang with him since he had accepted a job storming the Wayne event.

It was worrying.

Starfire landed on a roof and looked around for Black Bat. The Gotham heroine was leading them to where the event was taking place.

* * *

Red Hood had expected something like this. He had even told Damian that the Teen Titans wouldn't just accept the disappearance of their leader.

But, he always loved the chance to mess with their heads.

"Now, what's a beauty like you doing in Gotham?" he asked when Starfire landed on a roof near his safe house.

She looked at him, her eyes going to his chest. Red Hood instantly regretted wearing the armour with the red bat symbol on it because she relaxed slightly. Her hands were still lit green with her starbolts but she wasn't pointing them at him.

"You are?" she asked as a crow landed beside her and transformed into Beast Boy.

"Red Hood," he greeted with a smirk they couldn't see but they could hear and a bow.

They shared a look and Beast Boy looked worried.

Good.

"We were warned about you," Starfire said. Then she shook her head. "But we do not have time for you."

"Unless you're the one planning to attack the Wayne event," Beast Boy added, "because that would certainly make our jobs easier."

They were working in  _Gotham_?

"Don't you know that Batman doesn't let metas run in this city? And what attack on the Wayne event?"

"An unknown has hired people to attack the event tonight," Black Bat informed him and,  _geez!_ , he hadn't even sensed her coming.

"Seriously?" He had unknowingly and forcibly brought Dick to the first event to be attacked in years. Jason was not patting himself on the back for that one. "I haven't heard any whispers of an attack."

"Someone involved told his friend about it," Black Bat explained. "The Teen Titans have offered their assistance while they search for Robin."

"Hnn." Red Hood prayed that his body language didn't say that he knew where Robin was. However, there was no hiding from Black Bat. "Let's go save Bruce Wayne and his event. And there are eight words I'd never thought I'd say."

After a short pause, Black Bat said, "follow," and jumped off the roof.

* * *

Barbara Gordon spotted the two teenagers as soon as she started up the steps. One was tall and broad with dark slacks and a blazer jacket over a shirt. The other was short but thin with an hourglass figure hugged tight by her black side-slit dress. Although it was dark, her hair was certainly a purple colour. An ordinary citizen of Gotham might not spare them a glane but Barbara was no ordinary citizen. She had been Oracle for two years, setting up the network which Stephanie now used.

She was Batgirl.

So, she recognised the two Teen Titans in disguise without much effort, even though they had gone to the trouble of hiding Cyborg's mechanical parts and Raven's forehead gem. She applauded their effort to blend in as the Teen Titans weren't known for their stealth.

"What are you up to now, Boy Wonder?" she mused quietly as Cyborg adjusted his blazer and muttered something.

Raven rolled her eyes and shoulders before walking right across the street. Cyborg jumped to follow her.

"Rae, they're not going to let us in," Cyborg pointed out.

"Too bad," Raven responded, "we're going in anyway."

Barbara smiled and ducked through the crowd until she was standing behind them.

"You really want to go in?" she asked, causing them to jump. "I can get you in," she explained.

"Really?" Raven asked, suspicious, "and why would you do that?"

"Because it sounds like you really need to get in. You might not realise this but lots of people come here in the hopes of asking Bruce Wayne for help. You know, if you can get through his gatekeepers."

"His what?"

"Really?" Raven's voice now had a sarcastic tone to it.

"Gatekeepers. His sons. Damain Wayne is the worst, he'll send you away feeling three inches shorter and ten times more frustrated. Timothy Drake will tie your request in knots before explaining every step to fix it in about the first five plans he can come up with on the spot. Still want to see him?"

They nodded.

"We have some information for him."

Barbara waved off-handily before guiding them towards the entrance.

"I just hope you don't expect money or anything from this," she warned as if she believed they would.


	6. Meet Ups

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Devlin Davenport is a character who appears in Knight Out, one of the comics included in the 75 years collection of Batman. I took his personality from what we see in the about 2 pages he appears in (in which time he manages to completely offend his date and she leaves him – which gives us a line I adapted for this chapter).

 

**Part 6 – Meet Ups**

* * *

Stephanie Brown (Oracle II), 21

Jason Todd (Red Hood - Gotham), 18

Cassandra Cain (Black Bat), 18

Barbara Gordon (Batgirl III), 16

Dick Grayson (Robin), 16

* * *

Dick was bored. He could feel the small, polite smile on his face as people asked him how boarding school was going. He didn't want to stick close to Bruce, where people laughed and giggled and treated him like a fool.

He missed his friends. He missed the Teen Titans.

_The Teen Titans!_

He hadn't contacted them since he went missing! Starfire must be so worried. He didn't have a phone and his T-communicator was probably still on his desk back at the tower.

Why was this only occurring to him now?

Dick held back a twitch as he tried to rush towards the nearest exit to the room. He could stand outside, away from the gathering and hopefully find a few moments to call him friends.

Somehow. He knew Jason probably hadn't bothered to collect his T-communicator from his desk back at Titans Tower.

Now that he had a problem, he wasn't willing to stay.

"Where do you think you're going kid?" Someone asked, grabbing his arm.

Dick inwardly cursed before tossing the blond man gripping his arm a smile.

"Just to the toilet, Mr. Davenport," Dick said innocently.

The man squinted at him and his eyes widened when he took in Dick's blue eyes and neatly parted black hair.

"Dickie!" he said with a smile. "Haven't seen you around here for a while! Where's Brucie?"

"Further inside," Dick said, "and I'm surprised to see you here."

Devlin Davenport laughed and tugged Dick back where everyone was.

"I should be saying that about you kid!" he said. His head followed the part of a curvy woman as she walked past him. "Hello, gorgeous! I sure could use your care."

Dick blanched at his tone and the woman glared at him before stalking off with Devlin's eyes fixated on her behind.

"Ah, too bad. At least this place is rich in young flesh, I'll find another."

Dick really hoped he wouldn't.

"Saying that while holding the arm of a young boy is probably not a smart idea," a voice said as two red heads almost seemed to appear from nowhere. They had stepped out and surrounded the man as soon as they noticed Dick.

Devlin found himself facing Roy Harper while Wally West smiled at Dick. Dick's heart leapt at the sight of them.

"Mind if we take him?" Wally said, linking an arm around Dick and pulling him away. Roy was glaring at Devlin hard enough that the man decided to go elsewhere; where was Brucie?, and complain about teenagers.

"What are you guys doing here?" Dick asked in a whisper. Wally's smile didn't fade.

"We heard you were going to be here!"

"Who told you that?"

"Red Hood," was Roy's answer and Wally's was, "Roy."

"He also gave us invitations to get through the door," Roy added.

Dick could feel the shock showing on his face.

"Um, when did you-"

"One of the times you had Titans East look over Jump City," Roy responded with a raised eyebrow. "Red X thought it would be fun to mess with me. I had to pin him down and pull the mask off."

"Dude, you can't do that!" Wally said with a dramatic gasp. "You can't just take the mask!"

"He was wearing another one underneath," Roy stressed through his teeth.

"Yeah. That's Jay for you," Dick sighed. And his team thought he was paranoid about his mask; at least he didn't wear a hood or mask over his domino mask.

"Really, I should have realised it when he asked about the hat,'" Roy's nose crinkled as he muttered, "I hate that hat." He had 'lost' the Speedy hat when he left Green Arrow to join the Teen Titans.

"I miss the hat," Dick said.

"Shut it, traffic light."

They glared at each other for a moment before laughing. It had been a while since they could be themselves without mask and weapons. Here there were no Titans relying on Robin to answer questions and solve problems.

* * *

They took some chairs in a corner which Wally declared was their 'fort' to any party goer who came near them, to Dick's and Roy's embarrassment. Dick was smiling in a way he hadn't for a while. It was a carefree smile which he really didn't have when he was 'Robin', unless he was hanging with just Cybrog, Beast Boy, Starfire and Raven over pizza or something.

"Do either of you have your T-communicator on you?" Dick asked, hopeful as he explained how he ended up in Gotham. Roy expressed amusement over his kidnapping while Wally was worried about how the Teen Titans were taking it.

"I have it, but what are you going to do about," Wally covered his eyes with his hands, looking out through gaps in his fingers.

"No idea," Dick responded honestly. "I'm taking things as they come." Roy was looking around. "What's wrong?"

"Usually someone from your 'family' would appear by now, just to annoy us," Roy point out, "so where are they?"

* * *

In the dark behind the building where the event was taking place, four figures dropped to the ground. A figure with a yellow belt flashing around her waist went to collect a bag she left there beforehand.

In the bag was a dress she pulled on over her uniform, her black and yellow cape and cowl becoming a sash around her waist.

"Red looks good on you," Red Hood commented as he pulled on the silk cream coloured shirt on. He wrapped a tie around his shoulders and then moved to pull on some slacks.

Starfire and Beast Boy watched as they slowly hid their uniforms under their dress clothes. A few times they had to put things back in the back, like some of Red Hood's armour. Red Hood had to change his shoes and Black Bat clicked higher heels onto the soles of her shoes. She wobbled.

"Whoa, Cass," Red Hood said, steadying her, "you can handle that height, can't you?"

"Can't you?" she echoed, looking him up and down. Even with the heels, Jason was slightly taller than her. She remembered the little Robin who couldn't wait to grow up but they had missed so much of it. At eighteen, he was as tall as she was, slightly taller than Dick and inching his way up to Tim's height. He would probably grow taller than Tim in the next few years and people were taking bets on whether he would end up taller than Bruce and Damian.

She distracted herself by turning back to the orange and green teenagers.

"Is there any way you can... fit in? Like when I first saw you?"

"She means blend in," Red Hood suggested as a better phrase.

Starfire nodded and fiddled with the ring hiding under her shirt. The chain was just visible around her neck as she activated the hologram.

Beast Boy frowned as he fiddled with the silver ring around his thumb but moments later, Jason and Cass were looking at two normal looking teenagers.

Jason let out an impressed whistle.

"Too bad they won't let you in wearing those outfits," he stated. Cass dug around in her bag and passed Starfire a glittering purple dress.

"For a friend, if she needed it. It might fit," Cass said.

Starfire smiled as she took the dress and pulled it over her uniform. It was padded to hide anything she might be wearing under it and she could feel hidden pockets.

"It's a little conservative, isn't it?" Jason said in a disappointed tone. The dress accentuated her chest but went around her shoulders and down to her wrists and the dress part flowed right down to her ankles.

"What about me?" Beast Boy asked.

"I don't think I've got anything fancy to fit you," Jason said to Beast Boy and this time they could see the glint of white teeth in the shadows. "Maybe you can pose as the help?"

Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at the Red Hood, making Cass to giggle.

"I don't think you need to go that route," Stephanie said as she wheeled into view around the corner. She smirked with half her face in shadow. "I think some of Dick's things might fit him. And, guess what, I happen to have some on me." She had them in case Damain couldn't get Dick into his suit in time however, Alfred had taken care of that for them.

"Can't I just wear this?" Beast Boy asked, jokingly. Jason knocked him lightly over the head.

"The richest people in Gotham are in there. They will notice a single hair out of place, Greenie."

"Thank you," Starfire said to Stephanie. "But, why are you helping us?"

"I'm Steph. You might know me as Oracle."

"You're the information broker for heroes!" Beast Boy gasped. Cyborg had told him about Oracle.

Jason frowned disapprovingly down at Steph.

"You look like him," she said.

"You shouldn't hand your name out like that."

"I think I can trust the Teen Titans, Jason."

Jason shook his head, like he couldn't believe her. He didn't say anything else against it though. He just stormed towards the back entrance.

"Let's just get this over with."

"Mask."

He froze, hand reaching up. While his hood had been stored, he had left the domino mask on.

He cursed as he tore it off.

"Now let's get this over with," he seethed, well aware of the group laughing and snickering behind him.


	7. It All Falls Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Finishing sentences with proper grammar, sometimes doesn't work. So just ignore that; I assure you, the characters have as well. Also, I'll just throw this out now, Dick has not been kidnapped (sorry to those who love Boy Hostage). The next chapter will cover what he's been doing, including the call at the start of this chapter. Title for this chapter comes from _The Veronicas - When It All Falls Apart_ , which was a song that got stuck in my head while I was writing this.

 

**Part 7 – It All Falls Apart**

* * *

"Titans," Robin's voice came from the communicator. The words -voice only- were present on the screen.

"Rob!"

"Boyfriend Robin!"

"Robin!"

"Robin."

"Sorry for not calling. I just wanted to let you know that I'm fine. Look after Jump City for me, I'll be back in a few days."

"Uh, Rob?"

"What is it, Cyborg?"

"We are in Gotham, Robin!" Starfire's voice was loud and four hands went to cover speakers to keep others from overhearing.

"What?"

"Dude, we're going to save Mr. Wayne or something."

"Or something," Raven droned.

"Rob, there's going to be an attack at his event. We've been trying to warn Mr. Wayne but-"

"Wait? You're here?" Robin gasped before there were sounds of explosions and panic.

* * *

**Cyborg, Raven and Barbara**

Cyborg was about to respond to the question when the hall was rocked by an explosion. Dust clouded throughout the hall and screams rang out.

Raven shuddered as she was assaulted with the panic of those around her. Her hands clenched her head as she tried in vain to put up barriers.

Barbara was calm. She grabbed Raven and pulled her out of the way. Voices rose above the crowd ordering them to the emergency exits.

Men in black ski masks and what looked like bowing shirts climbed through the hole they created in the wall. Their guns clicked ready.

Those who hadn't managed to escape froze at the sight.

"Alright, hands up!" The leader ordered, his shirt had 'King' embroidered on his chest, above the left pocket.

Cyborg tugged at his holographic shirt.

"What do we do?" he asked Raven.

Raven grit her teeth and the hologram around her flickered and died.

"We stop them," she declared.

"Barbara." A woman wove expertly through the crowd. Her dark hair was cropped around her face and she nodded to Cyborg before turning to their red-haired escort. She pressed an earpiece into her hand. Then she turned to Raven and Cyborg and gave them the same thing. She mimed for them to put it in their ear.

"Red Hood and Beast Boy are trying to guide people out of the hall but I don't think they'll go unnoticed by the gunmen for much longer. Black Bat, do we have Batgirl?"

"BG here." Cyborg stared at the short woman beside him. Barbara smiled up at him and titled her head innocently. "What do you want me to do?"

"Of course," Raven sighed at the reveal. Batgirl would the girl who let them in.

"Can you change? I want Black Bat and Batgirl on the scene."

* * *

**Starfire, Beast Boy, Cass, Steph and Jason**

Starfire and Beast Boy were relieved and gladdened to hear their leader's voice. They were content to let Cyborg explain when the building rocked and panic erupted.

Beast Boy grabbed a serving tray and surged forward, heading for the hall. As they had used the back entrance to get in, it came out in an overlooked corner.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, exit is this way!" he called out, pretending to be an employee so they would listen to him.

"Clever," Jason commented, pushing past him. "Lead them out!" he called to Beast Boy as he started pushing people towards the exit. It didn't take long for the crowd to realise what they were doing and follow Beast Boy out of the building.

Steph and Starfire and rushed into the hall shortly after the panic.

Cass had vanished after Steph placed something in her hand.

Steph, now in Oracle mode as much as she could be in public, handed Starfire an earpiece.

"Robin," Starfire said in a worried tone, looking around.

"He'll be fine," Steph said reassuringly. "He's trained. These people aren't. They come first."

Starfire knew that. It didn't stop her from worrying, especially when she knew Robin was probably here in the danger zone. The hologram around her flicked out and Steph grabbed her arm.

"No metas in Gotham. Keep your powers on the down low."

Starfire frowned at her.

"What is the 'down low'?"

"Uh, try not to use them."

"Why should I hide?"

"It's not hiding. Just try and stay under the radar. I don't want to tell Robin that you got shot."

Starfire didn't think she liked Gotham. But, she liked Robin and Steph so she did as was asked.

* * *

Black Bat swooped down from above, Batgirl beside her.

"Leave," she ordered.

"You'll want to do as she says," Batgirl commented.

The gunmen shared a look before holding their guns up towards the heroes. They fired.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" A black band appeared before the female heroes, protecting them from the bullets.

"Alright, party's over," Cyborg declared. The gunmen panicked. One bolted and grabbed a woman from the crowd.

* * *

**Damian and Colin (+ Bonus Red Robin)**

Damian's reflexes saved him from getting a large chuck of wall on top of him, but they didn't save him from twisting his wrist when he landed.

He cursed colourfully.

"Oh dear," Colin sighed as he helped his friend to his feet.

"-superstitious, cowardly-"

"Yes, yes. Did you remember to bring a mask this time?" Colin asked.

"One time-"

"A month," Colin finished for his red-faced friend. It wasn't quite that often but Damian often jumped into fights and crimes without taking the time to change.

The first time they had met ended with Damian sporting a mask created by wiping his blood over his eyes. He had been trying to hide his identity because of his father's rules.

"What?" Damian hissed, placing a hand on his ear to let Colin know that he was listening to someone via comm. "Yes, I have my earpiece on me. I'm fine. No, I am not injured. Nor am I lying to you. Shut up, Fat- what? No!" Damian muttered a few more choice words.

Colin waited patiently for him to finish. Damian did so with a sigh.

"Fatgirl wants me to appease the masses, since she can't get hold of father," he explained, climbing out the building via the huge hole in the wall the gunmen made. The gunmen's attention was all on the heroes who just appeared so they wouldn't notice him. "Knock a few heads for me, would you?"

Colin nodded and focused. His muscles bulked up and he gained inches as his body grew larger. No longer was he a scrawny twenty-five year old, he was as bulky as the criminal known as Bane but far more heroic.

Abuse stalked up behind the gunmen, too occupied with trying to get through Raven's barrier to notice him.

"This party's invitation only," he quipped in a growl before knocking two of the gunmen's heads together.

They noticed him now. He found a trembling gun pointed in his face. The other man grabbed a hostage from the crowd.

* * *

Oracle was seated towards the back, out of range of the action but able to see everything. She had cameras installed around the area, something she did before the event began.

Towards the middle of the hall, the Teen Titans stared down the criminals, ready to attack. Jason was standing beside them with a mask over his eyes and a gun in his hand. Black Bat was on the other side, looking around and analysing every movement. If she spotted any of the men about to fire, she was to warn them. Batgirl was glaring at the men but didn't move from Black Bat's side.

Where the gunmen blasted a hole in the wall, Abuse stood frozen, waiting for orders. Through the comm Oracle could hear Damian explaining to the crowd that the event will be postponed. He was blunt and businesslike about it, while poor Mr. Fox was stuck trying to put a positive spin on both the events and Damian's words. Damian was catching on and preaching a little about the charity behind the event but it was 'preaching' and sounded self-righteous and haughty.

Two of the gunmen had been knocked out. Three remained. One had a gun pointed back at Abuse, one with a gun pointed at the rest of the heroes and one with a hostage.

Oracle couldn't figure out why the woman hadn't escaped like everyone else when the gunmen had been distracted with the heroes' defence.

The hostage didn't scream. If anything, she looked annoyed with a frown and knitted brows.

"We need to synchronise our approach," Oracle advised quietly. "Abuse, when the hostage is out of the way, you need to take your guy down quick." Abuse nodded.

"I've got the hostage," a voice whispered over the comms. It made Steph smile to hear it. He sounded so sure of himself and she knew the journey he had to get there.

For a moment she flashed back to the small, jumpy teenager she had known and dated for a while.

"Red Robin's got the hostage."

"We'll take the last," Raven said quietly.

Any other time and any other person might have argued with the Teen Titans taking down a gunman in a high stress environment. Steph was more willing to give people a chance and she knew this wasn't the time to argue anyway.

"Alright. When I say 'go'." She started a quiet count, "one, two, three, GO!"

* * *

Red Robin dropped from the ceiling and aimed a batarang at the gunman's hand. It hit and the man howled in pain as he landed beside him and pushed the hostage, he faintly recognised her as Paula Irving, away.

Beast Boy changed from fly to cheetah, jumping on the gunman aimed at the group, knocking him to the ground and his gun from his hand. Beast Boy pinned him there.

Abuse grabbed the barrel of the gun pointed at him and crushed it. He pulled it away from the gunman and punched his fist into the man's face.

Suddenly, vines seemed to rise off the ground. They pushed the heroes away and curled around the criminals.

"Humph. What fools." Paula Irving snorted. She pulled her waving red hair from the clip as her skin turned green.

"Poison Ivy?" the Bat Clan members gasped, although Jason let a quiet, impressed whistle at the reveal.

"What are you doing here, Ivy?" Red Robin asked, taking lead as the oldest.

"I came to talk to Bruce Wayne about the nature his current projects will destroy."

"They're for charity," Jason pointed out as Red Robin sighed.

"And it's only cutting down a few trees," Batgirl pointed out.

Poison Ivy levelled a glare at the other red-head.

"It's really not the time," Selina said, popping her head around the hole in the wall. "And we had nothing to do with this, so let's go?"

"Fine," Poison Ivy said, kicking the gunman by her feet. "This has been more than enough trouble."

Damian walked him, hiding his injury in his walk and his expression. He barely felt it as he walked over to Colin. Abuse's form had condensed back into the thin form of Colin Wilkes. Unfortunately, his priest outfit didn't have the same ability and the sleeves had burst and torn.

Damian looked over all the people gathered.

"Where's Grayson?"


	8. Dick, Roy and Wally

**Part 8 - Dick, Roy and Wally**

* * *

"Where's Bruce?" Dick asked, looking around. So far, he had managed to locate a few of his family members. Colin stuck out in his priest outfit and Damian was usually close by to him. Tim was mingling with the crowd with a pleasant smile on his face.

But Bruce, the person who usually created a crowd and was simple to find, didn't seem to be present.

"Who knows," Roy answered with a shrug. Dick frowned at him before getting up. "Really? We're supposed to be having a good time, not searching for wayward father figures."

"When did you two make up anyway?" Wally asked, following Dick. "I thought you were fighting."

Dick didn't know whether to sigh or laugh.

"That was three years ago, Wally. Now, do either of you have a communicator I could use?"

Roy shrugged at Wally and produced his communicator, a round yellow device with a 'T' in the centre.

Dick thanked them and they followed him up the stairs to the landing on the second floor. Wally and Roy shared another look as they knew Dick didn't want to be here; he had told them as much himself. Yet, here he was, weaving through the crowd and smiling as if he wanted to.

They snuck up to the landing and Dick pressed a few buttons on the communicator. He explained he was activating the voice only command before he dialled.

"I did not know they had those," Wally commented before Dick shushed him.

* * *

 _"Wait? You're here?" Dick gasped before there were sounds of explosions and panic._  The call was cut off in the confusion. "Wally! Get down there and tell us what you see!" Dick ordered, his voice in Robin's confident tone and not Dick's soft one.

Wally nodded and was gone and back in the space of two seconds. He quickly described what he had saw and Dick poked his head around to see if he could get a good look. He could see the ceiling but parts of the hall were cut off from his sight. It was not a good vantage point. He could see the gunmen but not his friends or family.

"Where's Bruce?" Dick thought out loud.

"I didn't see him," Wally said.

"He's probably changing into Batman," Roy suggested, seeing the way Dick's brows knitted.

Dick frowned and closed his eyes for a moment in thought.

"No," he decided a moment later. Dick stood up and looked around. "We need to find him, now."

"Uh, what about downstairs?" Wally questioned, pointing.

"My older siblings are here, as is my team. They can handle it."

Wally sighed.

"I guess this is like old times," Roy said, smirking as he thought about it. The three of them had been close before Robin had left and created the Teen Titans. They were still close but they didn't have adventures with just the three of them as often.

Wally looked between his two friends and remembered a particular time when they had pranked their mentors. He smiled as well.

"Alright," he said, stretching out his arms and legs. "Let's do this." And he was off, checking every room while Dick and Roy followed at a snail's pace.

In one room, a small office with a desk, a couch and a window, they found Bruce Wayne in the arms of one Harley Quinn.

"Oh no, the little mice found us!" she chuckled.

"Diiiick," Wally whined as he took a few steps back. His friends speed up and arrived just as Harley pulled out her mallet.

"Bruce!" The blood drained from his head as he spotted his mentor unconscious and slung over Harley Quinn's shoulder.

"She is strong." Wally stared at Roy as Dick refused to take his eyes off the nightmarish scene. "What? We all know he's not the lightest guy around."

"The Joker's still locked up," Dick pointed out, moving into the room and picking up the hat rack just inside the door. It would make a good makeshift weapon. "Why are you here?"

Harley laughed and used her mallet to knock out the window behind her, right as gunfire sounded below.

"Hmm, figure it out yourselves, kiddies!" she laughed. "I will say this, it's a riot that Bruce Wayne gets kidnapped from his own event because the capes and boys in blue are too busy with the guys downstairs!"

"Not going to happen!" Wally declared, "because we're going to stop you!"

There was a moment pause. Then Harley roared with laughter.

"You've got her quaking in her boots," Roy commented dryly.

Dick shot them both glares before rushing forward. Before he could reach her, Harley tossed some pellets on the ground and the room exploded with gas.

Wally had heard all about the Joker's gas and he knew that Dick wasn't carrying any air filtering equipment on him. His superspeed kicked into gear and he grabbed Dick first, pulling him out of the room and dropping him at the stairs before going back for Roy.

"Bruce!" Dick cried out, doing a flip over Wally and dashing back to the room.

"It's dangerous!" Roy said, grabbing Dick around his waist and holding him back.

Dick pulled and wriggled.

"Let me go! We have to help him!"

"No! Stop moving you fool!"

"Dick, the best thing to do right now is tell the rest of your family." Wally stood before his friends as he spoke.

Dick's sharp blue eyes spoke of betrayal as they glared at him. They were shiny with unshed tears.

"I'm the leader the Teen Titans," Dick said, going slack in Roy's grip. "What's the point if I can't even save one person?"

"Right now, you're Dick Grayson. Kid brother to Jason Todd-"

"-Tim Drake, Damian Wayne," Wally added.

"And Cassandra Cain. Not to mention, Steph and Barbara will be willing to help."

"And us."

"And us," Roy agreed. "And the rest of the Teen Titans. You heard them, they were trying to warn Bruce."

Dick nodded and they pretended not to hear the sniffle. He rubbed at his eyes with his sleeve and then paused.

"You know," he said, "I really miss my mask right now."

Wally's response was to hug him. Dick responded to that by stepping on his toes. Roy laughed at Wally and then teased Dick about needing his mask to be a hero. Which resulted in both Wally and Dick both calling him a 'Robin knock off' and Roy calling Dick 'Bird Boy'.

* * *

"Where's Grayson?"

Everyone looked around, even the Teen Titans, although they had little idea who they were looking for.

"I hope he hasn't been kidnapped," Barbara commented.

"You hear that Dick? No faith. No faith at all," Wally commented, sliding down the banister with a smile on his face and a glint in his eyes. His hair was already starting to come loose from being brushed down and was returning to its windswept, combed back state.

"You are never going to believe what happened," Roy said, walking down the steps with Dick behind him. He waved his hands through the air. "It's just crazy."

Behind him, Dick rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh.

"It's Gotham."

"He's right though. Crazy," Wally said.

"I need to find better friends," Dick said, rubbing his palm on his forehead. Then he paused. "Oh wait. I did." His voice was bland and amused as he obviously made a joke.

Cass' shoulders hitched in amusement as Jason barked laughter. Tim adjusted his glasses, using the motion to hide his smile. Barbara smirked and shifted her stance so she was crossing her arms.

"Burn," Damian stated, quite pleased with his little brother.

The Teen Titans were just confused as Roy and Wally both gave Dick friendly knocks.

"So," Stephanie hummed, "what happened?"

Dick froze, his slightly cheery mood dissipating. Roy and Wally sighed in unison. They had tried to cheer him up a little but it wasn't enough to stop Dick from reliving his 'failure' upstairs.

"Bruce Wayne's been kidnapped," Wally said, stepping forward.

"And it's totally not our fault that Harley Quinn made off with his unconscious body," Roy said before Dick could speak up and take the blame. "She tried to gas us."

Steph and Damian shared looks. Damian stormed off upstairs with Colin on his heels.

"Alright people," Steph said, taking control as the next oldest and Oracle, "Tim, you're upstairs. Collect as much evidence as you can." Tim groaned. "Cass, go with him and make sure he doesn't end up getting killed by Damian."

Cass nodded.

"As for the rest of us, we'll reconvene at the Bat Bunker. Jason, call Alfred and get him up to speed. Barbara, I'll call your dad and tell him we've scheduled a sleepover disguised as an all-night study session-"

"Does that mean they're having a sleepover or a study session?" Cyborg whispered to Cass.

"She's going to let Commissioner Gordon decide that," Cass explained.

"Teen Titans, Dick, Roy and Wally will-"

"I promised my uncle I'd go home after the event!" Wally said without thinking. Steph gave him a deadly smile.

"The event's not over yet. Not until we get Bruce back. And you could always bring your girlfriend here. Yes, I know you didn't promise your uncle but your girl."

"I did say something to Uncle Barry, I just also promised Jinx I'd take her out tomorrow."

"You're doomed," Roy decided. Jinx was going to get him back for cancelling.

"Jinx?" Cyborg questioned in a strangled voice.

"That would make you the Kid Flash, correct?" Starfire said.

"That's right! I'm the one, the only-"

"Impulse makes two," Barbara stated, mentioning the twenty year old speedster from the future who was affiliated with Young Justice. "Now stop interrupting."

Wally curled up and tried to look pathetic.

"As I was saying, Teen Titans and honorary Teen Titan, can take the car back. I've already summoned it. The rest of you will make our own way back. I'm going to head to my office where I'll be of best use to you all."

"So, we don't get a ride?" Jason huffed. "Not cool."

"I'm going to aim for one of the car's back seats," Barbara pointed out.

"I doubt there's that much room in whatever car we're taking," Beast Boy mused.

Steph clapped her hands. "Alright guys, let's move!"

* * *

Beast Boy drooled as the Batmobile pulled up in all its dark glory.

Dick wished he could enjoy Beast Boy's obvious, loving expressions over the Batmobile but he caught the looks Cyborg was sending him. The looks said they would be talking about this.


	9. Bat Clan and Teen Titans

**Part 9 – Bat Clan and Teen Titans**

* * *

**Bat Clan ages:**

Damian Wayne (Son of the Bat), 27

Colin Wilkes (Abuse), 25

Timothy Drake (Red Robin), 21

Jason Todd (Red Hood - Gotham), 18

Cassandra Cain (Black Bat), 18  
Barbara Gordon (Batgirl III), 16

Dick Grayson (Robin), 16

* * *

Dick pressed himself up against the window, watching the world rush by. It felt weird being in the back seat of the Batmobile. They rarely sat in the back seats because there was almost never more than two people in the car.

"Faster than the T-car," Roy snickered from the front seat.

"Yeah, well, I take safety seriously," Cyborg responded from where he was squished up against the other window. Starfire was pressed into Dick's side while Beast Boy and Raven were between the Teen Titan sandwich.

"Dick, was it?" Cyborg asked the black haired teenager. Dick frowned at him.

"What?" he said. Yes, he was being rude but he couldn't shake the image of Bruce being carried away by someone connected to the Joker. He knew the stories of what the Joker did to Jason.

So he wasn't in the mood to spill his life story to the Teen Titans, even if they were friends.

"You share many features with Robin," Starfire said. Dick brought his feet up and curled into the window.

"Ain't that somethin'," he muttered.

"Although, you appear smaller in size," Starfire continued.

Dick glared or would have, if it wasn't Starfire and her big, green eyes staring at him honestly. There was not a drop of malice in those eyes, only interest and desire to know more.

Dick found himself smiling.

"If I say I'm Robin, can I do this?" he asked, pressing into her body in a kind of pseudo-hug.

"Oh! You are in need to of the comfort, yes?"

"Yes, Star," he responded with a fond sigh. Starfire curled around him.

"We're right here," Cyborg said at the visible display of affection.

"You know, he didn't actually say he's Robin," Beast Boy pointed out, "what if he said it just to get a Starfire hug?"

"It's more like a cuddle than a hug," Cyborg corrected him.

Dick sighed.

"Beast Boy, real name Garfield. Vegetarian who spends most of his mornings arguing about how we shouldn't eat meat with Cyborg, who cooks meat just to bug you. Raven should know that it's me due to helping me when I was hallucinating Slade." Raven nodded. "That enough proof?"

"Hey, I love meat!" Cyborg countered. "Rob, you don't know what you're talking about."

"Right," Dick said slowly, blinking his blue eyes. They believed him however he realised that wasn't the hard part.

The hard part was making sure they survived his family.

* * *

Wally was already waiting when they arrived. He was munching on some sandwiches Alfred was holding on a tray.

He waved.

"Kid Flash!" Starfire greeted in response.

The Teen Titans looked around. The place was high-tech and sleek. They could see the people they had met standing up by a large computer screen.

"The rest of the Bat Clan are already planning," he said as they walked up.

"How'd they get here so fast?" Cyborg questioned.

"The car was programmed to take the long way back," Barbara explained, "and they could cut over rooftops."

Damian walked over in his Son of the Bat uniform. A black and white bodysuit adorned his body while a dark cape hung over his shoulders and a hood was pulled over his head. His face was covered by a pointed, black domino mask.

"Get dressed," he ordered, looking at Barbara and Dick.

"There might be a problem with that," Steph called out while Jason and Cass discussed something beside her.

"Like what?" Son of the Bat growled back at her.

"Jay ditched the Robin uniform back near Jump."

"So? We have spares here."

"Leave him to figure it out himself," Tim said as he placed his Red Robin mask over his face.

"Master Richard," Alfred said, holding out the spare Robin outfit.

Dick snatched it and held it in his hands. His mouth twitched between happy and annoyed.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked.

Dick held it up to his chest.

"It's too small," he said.

Son of the Bat let out a grumble.

"It will take too long to get Dick a Robin costume which fits," Wally sighed.

"You can't get it?" Roy questioned. Wally should be able to get the tower and back in only a few minutes, at most.

Wally shook his head.

"Titans East are there. They have Más y Menos," he said by way of explanation.

"I know that. So what?"

"What do you think will happen if they catch Kid Flash in the tower?" Dick asked.

"Um...don't know, don't care?"

"Think interrogation. They'll want to know what he's doing there and a whole lot of other things. It will take a lot of time for Kid Flash to talk his way out of it."

Roy thought about it remembered what Bumblebee could be like. She took leading Titans East very seriously and would make sure to ask Kid Flash a lot of questions.

"Okay. I get it. But, it's better than nothing."

Son of the Bat tilted his head.

"Abuse thinks he has something. I'll go check it out," he reported, summoning his bike with a hidden button on his wrist. He jumped on and roared away without waiting for anyone to react.

Not that they did. The Teen Titans figured that Damian did this often.

"We might have something as well," Jason said, pulling on his Red Hood helmet. "Let's go, Black Bat."

Cass nodded.

Steph watched them go with a wistful look. Then her gaze sharpened as she wheeled around to face the screen, her Oracle symbol screensaver giving way to maps and information.

"Where do you want me, O?" Batgirl asked.

"Check out these warehouses," she responded as a few locations lit up in red. "These are places were Harley's been known to hang out."

"Got it," Batgirl said, giving her a salute. "I'll get Mr. Wayne back."

"Teen Titans," Red Robin addressed them, "there's a gym, training room, medical bay and a number of other rooms to explore. Enjoy."

"Say, wha'?" Cyborg muttered.

Dick sighed, Beast Boy's ears drooped, Starfire looked confused and Raven's dark aura flickered around her.

"Come on, guys," Dick said. "I'll show you the gym."

* * *

The Teen Titans followed him, although Beast Boy and Cyborg complained about being dismissed and not given a job to help. Starfire nodded and frowned. Raven said agreements where appropriate, although she disagreed with Beast Boy's idea of knocking out the other heroes and going to save Mr. Wayne themselves. They had no idea where to start.

"Are we really going to just hang around here while someone needs help?" Cyborg asked Dick.

"Yeah! He's like your father, right?" Beast Boy commented. "Don't you want to help?"

Dick had ignored their whining. He tried to ignore how his family had stuck him on babysitting duty looking after his team. He also tried to ignore the clenched feeling.

But all three together were eating away at his self-control.

"Of course I want to help!" Dick bellowed at them. "Bruce is my mentor. Without him, I wouldn't be standing before you all today. Which is why I brought you here."

"To the gym?" Cyborg and Beast Boy questioned in blunt confusion.

"This is going to involve sneaking out, isn't it?" Raven commented.

Dick smirked and nodded.

"Ah, Master Richard," Alfred said from the door, causing the Teen Titans to jump in surprise. He was carrying something black in his hands. "I do hope you weren't going to do something silly like sneak out to save Master Bruce. Not without a mask." He placed the black outfit on a nearby bench and left.

Dick looked over the outfit. A simple black piece which would cover his neck down to his wrists and ankles. Alfred had even provided gloves to cover his hands and Dick glanced at the entrance of the gym to see a pair of black boots.

It would be enough.

Enough for him to search for Bruce and save him.

Dick picked up the mask which had been placed in the folds of the clothes and placed it on his face.

"I'm going to save Bruce. Who's with me?"

"Alright!"

"Yeah!"

"I am, I guess."

"Of course, Robin."

* * *

Kid Flash raced through the streets of Gotham before coming to a stop in front of an Orphanage.

"Hello!" he greeted the children. They stared at him for a few moments before one of them recognised him as a hero.

Then a swarm of children rushed towards him, asking questions, telling stories and giving hugs.

"Can anyone take me to see Father Wilkes?" Kid Flash asked quickly. He received variations of 'he's with Damian'; although the children called him 'Uncle Damian' and 'Mr. Damian'.

* * *

Roy fiddled with his arrows, trying to create some new trick arrows. He was working in earshot of Oracle and Red Robin.


	10. Operation 'Find Harley', a Go!

**Part 10 – Operation 'Find Harley', a Go!**

* * *

**Bat Clan Ages:**

Damian Wayne (Son of the Bat), 27

Colin Wilkes (Abuse), 25

Timothy Drake (Red Robin), 21

Jason Todd (Red Hood - Gotham), 18

Cassandra Cain (Black Bat), 18  
Barbara Gordon (Batgirl III), 16

Dick Grayson (Robin), 16

* * *

The venue where the event had taken place was dark. Police tape adorned the door and windows. Across the street, five figures looked down from a rooftop.

Beast Boy yawned.

"So, Rob. What are we going to do?" he asked, blinking the tired out of his eyes. It was close to midnight and the skyline of Gotham was steadily growing darker.

"We need to figure out where Harley's gone," Robin responded. He shifted and it looked like solid shadows moving. It unnerved the team. They were used to fighting crime in bright places and during the day. They were not used to seeing their leader acting like a night owl, or more precisely, a bat.

"I could run a scan but I doubt I'll find anything your family hasn't," Cyborg commented, his parts glowing in the darkness.

"This city pulses with its own heartbeat," Raven mused from where she was meditating, "it'll be difficult for me to locate anything with it as background noise."

"Where would Harley go?" Starfire asked.

Four sets of eyes turned to Robin.

"I don't know." Nearby a cat yowled. "But I might know someone who will."

* * *

**Son of the Bat and Abuse (+ Kid Flash)**

* * *

Son of the Bat dropped another criminal to the ground and turned back to his bulky partner.

"None of these guys know anything," he grumbled while Abuse pulled out a map from his coat pocket.

There were little red dots scattered across it; marks where the children claimed Harley was hanging out.

"We'll find him," Abuse said, trying to keep Son of the Bat's mind on the job. If they didn't find a clue soon, he felt his friend would start regressing towards more brutal ways of getting information.

Damian would do anything to protect his small group of family and friends and he also didn't want to fail his father.

It was a really bad day to be a criminal in Gotham.

"Hey!" Son of the Bat flinched as the cracking teenager's voice and whoosh of air sounded. One of the men let out a wheezing whine as he collapsed onto the ground for the second time. The knife he had been planning on plunging into Son of the Bat's back dropped to the ground with a clatter. "You left me behind!" Kid Flash declared with a frown. The bright costume was a beacon in the darkness and it made Son of the Bat twitchy.

"You are not involved in this!" he said to Kid Flash instead of stabbing him, like he wanted. Kid Flash was Dick's friend and that was protecting him, for now.

"He did help," Abuse pointed out, placing his hand on the blade of the sword he was pointing at the teenager. He gently pushed it down.

"Whoohoo!" Kid Flash cheered, throwing his hands into the air. "Team Son-Kid-Abuse is a go!"

Son of the Bat growled.

"What makes you think you're coming with us?"

"Um...because I'll follow you if I don't?"

Son of the Bat growled again.

"The more the merrier?" Abuse suggested.

* * *

**Red Hood and Black Bat**

* * *

Red Hood leapt across rooftops until he landed outside a warehouse. It was a place where he had once been kidnapped to by the Joker and Harley.

And Harley tended to be sentimental.

"Are you okay?" Black Bat asked when he didn't move.

Red Hood shook his head of thoughts involving a traffic light uniform and a time when he felt he could anything and stepped forward.

"I'm fine. Let's just get these guys."

Cass nodded. She hoped there would be a clue here.

Red Hood tilted his head as voices could be heard. He smiled savagely.

"Looks like it's our lucky day."

Black Bat faded into the shadows, ready to pounce while Red Hood made his dramatic entry.

* * *

**Batgirl**

* * *

Batgirl had been sent to the North Point docks. She slipped through shadows to the best of her ability, her heart racing.

She wondered if she would ever get used to this. While she wasn't the kind of person who could just sit around and wait for others to help, she also knew how dangerous this work could be. Worrying about her father and witnessing what happened to Stephanie had brought out a fighter in her.

She wasn't going to let them win, no matter how scary and exhilarating it was to fly across rooftops and break into warehouses.

"Clear," she whispered into the comm-link to the cave. There was no one here.

There was a sound of frustration on the other end. There weren't enough clues and this was like searching for a needle in a haystack. It was making everyone frustrated.

* * *

**Oracle and Red Robin (+ Speedy)**

* * *

Oracle was sorting through all the information coming in from everyone searching. So far, there had been no sign of Harley.

"Red Robin, do you have anything?" she asked her ex-boyfriend and comrade.

"The evidence suggests that she gassed Bruce before taking him with a strong concoction that looks like Poison Ivy's work. There was still residue in the room where Dick saw her. She tried the same with the kids."

"We shouldn't have let Poison Ivy leave," Oracle commented.

Red Robin agreed. Especially since they hadn't been able to find her. The police had already stormed the place where Poison Ivy, Catwoman and Harley lived and found no one.

Roy smiled as Alfred handed him another sandwich. He ducked out of the room and used his T-communicator to relay the latest information to the Titans in the field.

* * *

**Teen Titans**

* * *

The Teen Titans followed Robin across rooftops. Partway through the journey, the sky was lit with a bright bat symbol.

"The Bat Signal," Beast Boy said in awe, stopping for a moment to stare.

Robin stopped as well and looked up, his shoulders slumping.

"He won't be able to answer," he said sadly.

"Robin," Starfire stated, reminding him of their duty.

"Right," Robin responded, continuing on his way. Besides, they were heading towards the signal's origin.

Gotham City Police station. The commissioner was standing on the roof, waiting no doubt to ask the Batman to help him find Bruce Wayne.

"Do we go talk to him?" Beast Boy asked, sounding hesitant.

"No way man. I'm all for helping but we ain't taking the Batman's job nor are we gonna advertise to all the crazies that we're here. No offence, Rob."

"None taken Cyborg," Robin responded, his eyes scanning the area. He had already heard from Speedy that the police had been unable to find any of Harley's 'friends'. And Kid Flash said that Son of the Bat wasn't even considering their involvement. The children's reports said that Harley was working alone now. "Just as I hope you won't be offended when I ask you to stay here."

The team jolted to look at their leader but he was already gone.

* * *

Robin landed above the commissioner and sought out the glint of skin he had spotted over here.

"Robin?" Catwoman questioned. Her yellow goggles almost seemed to flash as she turned from the Bat Signal to look at him.

"Catwoman," he responded in a hard voice. "Where's Harley?"

She sighed and her body swayed with movement as she shook her head.

"I have no idea. I didn't even know that she planned this."

"You had a fight," he stated, remembering the information Kid Flash had overheard from Son of the Bat.

Catwoman nodded, the pointed cat-like tips of her cowl bouncing with the movement.

"I may have mentioned an… attractiveness I see in Bruce Wayne. Harley took it to mean something else. We had a fight about those feelings. She thought I should go for it, the sucker for love she is, but I," she trailed off before sighing. "You know we have a history."

"Yeah," Robin agreed, clearing his throat and shifting a little. It was one thing to know about said history and another to be confronted with her still existent feelings for his mentor.

Catwoman gave a chuckle.

"You know, your predecessor would have made a joke about Bats and Cats," she said.

Dick made a face at the idea and cursed Jason for being crass enough to joke about relationships.

"Do you have an idea about how we might find Harley?" he asked.

Catwoman thought about it for a while.

"What kind of outfits were they wearing?" she finally asked. "With Harley, that might be a clue."

Robin had no idea. He held up a finger and jumped off the stairs' roof and onto the roof below.

"Commissioner," he said in a low tone, causing the man to jump. "I need information."

"Geez. Which one are you?" the Commissioner breathed. He squinted in the darkness, trying to see who he was talking to. The voice was familiar. "And is there any way you can tell everyone else to not do that."

"Even if I did, they wouldn't listen," Robin responded. "Tell me what the gunmen at the Wayne Event were wearing."

The Commissioner raised a curious eyebrow and pushed his glasses up with a finger before responding.

"They were heavily outfitted, although their uniforms wouldn't have blocked bullets. They certainly didn't seem like the type Harley would hire but Dick Grayson's witness report states that she admitted to them being a distraction, giving her the chance to take Wayne."

"Is there some form of their outfit that every gunman possessed?"

The Commissioner flipped through his files before stopping on a certain page and reading it.

"Seems every one of them was wearing a harness. Crosses over the chest and there were two ball-shaped sensors near the shoulders, on the left it was coloured red and the right was white."

"A harness. That might be what I'm looking for."

"As far as we can tell, they're regular sensor harnesses. No surprises built in."

"Thank you, Commissioner," Robin responded before leaping back up and nudging Catwoman over to another roof. "I have an idea where Harley might be."

"Does this have to do with the sensor harnesses?" a dull voice asked as Raven appeared from the shadows.

"You were listening?" Robin questioned in surprise, although he was impressed with Raven's skill.

Raven nodded.

"You're not doing this by yourself, you know," she reminded him.

"I know."


	11. Rescue?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Due to bandwidth limits (or whatever you call it when your internet provider sets a limit), updating might get messy over the next few weeks. Something's caused a huge jump in our house's internet usage, causing us to hit the limit fast. We don't know the cause, there have been no changes which coincide with the increase. This, plus the next few weeks being busy time at work for me, mean that it may be three days to a week before this updates (I promise at least once a week). I'm trying for that to not happen but, just in case it does, here's the warning. But, I think there's only a few chapters left for this story anyway.

 

**Part 11 – Rescue?**

* * *

**Bat Clan Ages:**

Damian Wayne (Son of the Bat), 27

Colin Wilkes (Abuse), 25

Dick Grayson (Robin), 16

* * *

Catwoman listened to Robin's theory before nodding in agreement and ducking away to track down the other members of the Bat Clan.

The Teen Titans kept going.

"I can't believe you guys travel over rooftops like this all. The. Time," Beast Boy huffed, shifting from a cat to a boy to a bird.

Cyborg nodded in agreement.

"I keep thinking I'm going wake someone up when I crash on their roof," he commented.

Robin smirked, white teeth glinting in the darkness. Raven and Starfire were fine, one able to levitate and the other fly. Starfire stood out in the darkness but was surprisingly good at using the landscape to hide her glow.

"Maybe you should learn to fly," he commented, dropping off the edge of the roof. He flipped as he dropped and then extended a line to swing across. This time, he cut the line before reaching roof level and he used acrobatics to swing, jump, flip and push himself up onto the roof.

"Show off," Cyborg grumbled as Starfire giggled happily at the display.

Robin bowed, his dark figure moving into the light for a moment. Then he continued on his way, trusting his team to catch up.

Starfire streaked through the sky with Raven a shadow behind her.

Beast Boy transformed and flew high and fast.

Cyborg leapt.

They reached their target; an old Laser Tag facility. It had been bankrupted by a lack of customers and abandoned. The outside had fallen into disrepair.

* * *

**Catwoman**

* * *

Ordinarily, this would not be her first choice. Or her second. Bruce Wayne was missing and she was connected. In those circumstances, Son of the Bat could be counted on to stab first and talk second. For all his talk, Son of the Bat was just as protective as the Batman. But in more of a 'no one can beat them up but me,' kind of way.

She trusted Robin, even though it made her feel like a fool. That's why she found Son of the Bat first.

She didn't get to where she was on blind faith though so she made sure she was out of stabbing range and placed Abuse between her and Son of the Bat.

"Heard you're looking for me," she purred, dropping down before them. She twirled her whip, ready to strike in retaliation and protection.

"Catwoman." Son of the Bat's eyes narrowed and his voice dropped a few octaves.

"You sound like your father when you say it like that," she countered with.

"He will hurt you if you keep that up," Abuse said with none of the hesitation Colin showed outside of the mask. However, he was still politer than the rest of the masks.

"Robin sent me."

"What?" Son of the Bat obviously didn't believe her.

However, another head, this one covered in red hair and goggles, zipped out from behind Abuse's large coat.

"Robin sent you?" he asked, zipping up close and then zipping away. Out of sight, Kid Flash contacted Robin, who was about to storm Harley's hideout. He zipped back up and nodded. "Robin did send her."

"What?" Son of the Bat repeated.

Catwoman smirked as she realised why Robin had sent her here first. Because there was someone who would vouch for her.

"Why did Robin send you?" Abuse asked.

Catwoman explained how they had figured out where Harley was and the unknowing and reluctant role she had played.

* * *

 _The end of Batman and Robin had been because of fear._   _Bruce often wondered what he could have done differently while knowing that he would have reacted the same._

"You're fired," he had said, possibly yelled at the poor kid who had been trying his hardest. Jason's ghost had haunted Bruce that night as he watched another of his Robin's fall to those they fought.

He didn't want Dick, so like him yet bright, to be snuffed out. He had tried to protect him.

He had pushed him away. Unfortunately, far away. By the time he and Alfred realised Dick wasn't in the manor, the boy had already taken back Robin and moved to Jump City.

Bruce spent the next few months in anger, lashing out at everyone and everything. He fought with Damian and it only took a few shouting matches for Damian to move out again, into the Penthouse.

Tim grew distant as well. During that time, Jason returned from the grave as Red Hood but always seemed to vanish after their little spats.

One morning, as the sun poked above the horizon and Batman hadn't moved from his chair in hours, Bruce pulled off the cowl and typed a message.

He erased it and typed it again and again, ignoring the way his injuries twinged as he moved. It had been a busy night, full of crime and lacking something.

Alfred had been at Damian's, making sure the boy wasn't overworking himself the way his father seemed to be doing.

Bruce wondered if Alfred saw the sent message. He knew the recipient had.

_[Please come home.]_

* * *

Bruce played the unconscious hostage while he tried to work at his ropes. He couldn't afford to be distracted by memories, even if this night had been the first time he had seen Dick in the flesh and been able to talk to him since the night the boy had left.

Harley could really tie a knot. He shouldn't have been surprised.

"Well, well, well, the man of the hour is awake," Harley said as she gave his hands a little slap. "I saw that twitch, Brucie."

Bruce opened his eyes and flashed Harley a smile, even as his insides churned.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of being kidnapped by Harley? Or is it the Joker who wants a word with me?"

"Watch it bub," Harley stated with a small frown before returning to a smile. She moved her trademark mallet around as she spoke. "I brought you here to talk about a friend of mine, you know her as Catwoman."

"The… thief?"

"No, no, no, no! We all have a hobby! Kitty's just happens to be shiny things and cats! And… apparently… billionaire dorks. No offence."

"Uh, none taken?"

"Anyway, congratulations! You've won a date with Catwoman!"

_What?_

"Pardon?"

"You've. Won. A. Date. With Catwoman!" Harley said, tapping him on the nose with every sentence. "Lucky Brucie."

He didn't feel lucky. Yes, a date with Selina might be nice but;

"Oh, and if you break her heart, I break your manhood." No one wanted a date with Harley Quinn watching over them.

"Uh, so what happens now? Is Catwoman coming here or are we going to her?"

Harley backed off and adopted a thinking pose.

"You know, I didn't think about that." She swung her mallet around. "I'll call Kitty!"

"You do that," Bruce deadpanned, playing for a few moments alone. Instead, Harley pulled out a phone. He slumped in the chair and tried to think of another way out.

A moment later, the lights flickered and the door was knocked in. Bruce smiled to himself. There was a flash of red, yellow and green in the darkness.

"What the? Who invited the kids! No kids while I'm arranging a date!" Harley bellowed, swinging her mallet only to hit air as one target shifted down into a cat. Her other target flipped over her head.

"I got the sonic if you got the boom!" Cyborg called out from the hole he had made in the wall.

A flash in the darkness, the sound of something whooshing through the air. A bright burst of a sonic blast. It connected with something and then exploded.


	12. Family

**Part 12 - Family**

* * *

**Bat Clan Ages:**

Damian Wayne (Son of the Bat), 27

Colin Wilkes (Abuse), 25

Stephanie Brown (Oracle), 21

Jason Todd (Red Hood - Gotham), 18

Cassandra Cain (Black Bat), 18

Dick Grayson (Robin), 16

* * *

Two days after Bruce sent the message, he received a reply.

[I can't.]

Attached was a newspaper article from Jump City, detailing the formation of the Teen Titans.

In spite of his disappointment, Bruce smiled. He already knew about the team Dick created; it seemed he was following in Tim's footsteps. Because of that, he had a feeling his youngest wasn't about to return.

He took a deep breath and sent something he thought he would come to regret.

[Tell me about them.]

He didn't regret it. What followed was a detailed message talking about all the different quirks of Robin's team. Little things. Like how Beast Boy loved videogames and practically drooled over the huge TV Cyborg installed; how Raven had made him mop the floor after that. How Cyborg spent a lot of time in the garage, working on his little projects.

Some didn't work as intended.

The first story Robin sent him involved some kind of jumping construction which was loose in the tower for an afternoon. It spilled Raven's tea and messed up Robin's room and Starfire dropped to the ground, dizzy from her attempts at catching it. In the end, Beast Boy had caught it by transforming into a whale and crushing it.

Eventually, Bruce started sending stories back instead of just reading them. He told Dick about the time Alfred the cat shredded his work papers and how he suspected Damian let the cat loose in his home office on purpose. He told Dick about Tim's work in Gotham.

Dick asked about Young Justice, even though Bruce was certain that the teenager was keeping track of his brother's exploits. Bruce didn't want to admit that he wasn't keeping an eye on the team so he did some research and he spent some time with Red Robin before responding.

For two years, they exchanged messages back and forth. The last one Bruce sent was a simple, 'be careful', in response to Dick's news about the Titans going to Tokyo.

* * *

Raven had slipped through the darkness, Starfire hidden in the cloak of darkness she commanded. They slipped past the boys and Harley fighting to where Bruce Wayne was tied up.

"Greetings," Starfire said quietly before using her eyebeams and strength to fry and snap the bonds holding the man down. "We are here to rescue you."

Bruce looked at her and then at Raven, who nodded in agreement with what Starfire had said.

"I got the sonic if you got the boom!" Cyborg's shout warned them.

Raven sighed as she sent up a dark barrier, stopping the blast from hitting them.

"We should leave," she said to Bruce.

There was a moment of hesitation, where Bruce thought about staying and helping his youngest fight.

He nodded in agreement with Raven though and a moment later, they were standing outside. Bruce felt like he had stepped through a layer of ice into Gotham streets.

Lights flashed in the distance as a bike roared and pulled up before him.

"Father, you're uninjured?"

Bruce's first response was to raise an eyebrow. The 'no names in the field' rule was to stop others from realising personal connections.

"I'm unharmed. Apparently, Harley wanted to set me up on a date with Catwoman."

"I am aware," Son of the Bat said through gritted teeth. He pointed towards the abandoned laser tag building. "She in there?"

"Go nuts," Raven said dryly. She sensed protectiveness and worry from him, mixed up in anger and fear.

Son of the Bat rushed into the building, using the dump bin outside to leap up to the window and crashed through it.

Red Hood and Black Bat were spotted jumping across rooftops a moment later. They didn't even stop to see Bruce on the ground before ducking into the building.

"Well, this is purr-fect," Catwoman mused and Bruce had to smile at the tone. "We miss the fight?"

"I'm going to check on my friend," Abuse said, rushing towards the entrance as fast as he could, his bulky body straight and with a hand pressing his hat on his head.

Kid Flash zipped around, checking that Starfire and Raven were okay before Raven knocked him away for being clingy.

"So, what about Robin and Cyborg?" he asked, flinching at the sound of gunshots. It took everything he had to not run in there and check on them.

Cyborg came running out with a black figure behind him.

"Mr. Wayne, are you okay waiting for the police?" he asked.

Bruce shrugged in an uncaring manner. He guessed Oracle or Red Robin had contacted the police.

Police sirens could be heard in the distance.

"This was fun but, I'm off," Kid Flash said, running off.

"Where do we go?" Starfire asked. Robin, looking almost like a man in black and not a teenager, smiled.

"Follow me," he said, leaping up a building by using the window frame as a foothold and then kicking off the wall in an arc. He grabbed onto the body of a street light and flipped around it, gaining speed and momentum to flip up to the top and kick off towards a roof. He landed silently, his face a white patch in the darkness.

"How does he do that?" Cyborg questioned in a high pitch, shifting his stance so he could jump after him.

Beast Boy seemed to appear from thin air as he shifted from fly to human.

"I have no idea. But let's follow him!" He smiled a fanged grin and followed after the girls, who hadn't waited for them before flying off.

* * *

Bruce was left standing in the empty street, waiting for the police. Red Hood emerged from the building first, dragging a bound and gagged Harley behind him and muttering curses towards the Teen Titans.

"They did all the work!" he complained.

"Didn't Black Bat say something about how you two busted up a drug gang before coming here?" Son of the Bat said as he trailed behind.

"We did," Black Bat commented. Son of the Bat shook his head in disbelief at the two eighteen year olds. Where did they get the energy?

"I'm going home," he informed them, hoping back on his bike.

"Tradition?" Black Bat asked him with a tilt of her head. Bruce had an idea what she was talking about but, it was tradition?

Son of the Bat considered this. If it was anyone besides Cassandra, he would have told them to forget about it. But, it was Cassandra and he admired the girl. He had been doing this for years and could only hope he was close to her level.

"Alright," he relented. "I'll see you back at the manor then."

Black Bat clapped her hands twice to show she was happy. Then she wrapped her arm around Red Hood's tugging gently.

Only now did Bruce realise he was surprised to see his second youngest in Gotham. Red Hood never made appearances around this time of year.

"What? I'm not going!" he pulled but even though Black Bat's hold was gentle, it was strong. "Why would I go?"

"Family."

"I'm not-"

"Why not come Jason?" Oracle said, reminding them that the link to their comms were open and she could hear everything.

He really should have been in Jump City, messing with Robin and the Teen Titans as the thief known as Red X. Not getting his arm twisted by the Bat Clan into… that. He had avoided it for years.

"Curse it all," Red Hood grumbled.


	13. The Main Event

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: This is a long chapter, complete with snippets of what the Bat Clan has been waiting for (this year they have Dick and even have Jason coming!).

**Part 13 – The Main Event**

* * *

**Bat Clan Ages:**

Damian Wayne (Son of the Bat), 27

Colin Wilkes (Abuse), 25

Stephanie Brown (Oracle II), 21

Timothy Drake (Red Robin), 21

Jason Todd (Red Hood - Gotham), 18

Cassandra Cain (Black Bat), 18

Barbara Gordon (Batgirl III), 16

Dick Grayson (Robin), 16

* * *

Stephanie twirled her chair around and stared at a smiling Roy. The archer smiled back and even tipped an imaginary hat at her.

She tucked a strand of her blond hair behind her ear.

"Child," she chided.

"Teen!" Roy corrected. He was a Teen Titan.

"You're barely legal yourself," Red Robin added, "and obviously slipping if you managed to let Roy override control for a moment."

Roy preened at the reminder. He had shot an arrow at the computer,  _'whoops, sorry about that,'_  and it had given off sparks but that wasn't all. Using the network the computer was hooked into, it had auto-dialled the police station. The sparks had been a distraction which had given him enough time to get to the computer.

By the time Oracle and Red Robin realised it was a distraction, he was already telling the police that they had located Bruce Wayne.

"Oh, whatever," Stephanie said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "He wouldn't be here if we didn't trust him so it's no big deal."

Red Robin didn't look convinced. Roy didn't care. He followed Dick, not Batman.

"So, do I get to come to the Main Event?" Roy asked. He had heard the stories but Dick hadn't let him come before.

"On one condition," Steph said. She pointed to the back of her chairs. "You've got to push me."

* * *

Batgirl smiled as the signal was turned off, signalling that the case had been solved. Oracle had announced as much. Bruce Wayne had been rescued and they could all return to what they had been doing.

The charity event was over. Bruce Wayne would probably have a proper press conference in the next few days to work out how to fix the fallout over being kidnapped by Harley.

Behind her blew an out of place gust of wind. She turned to see Kid Flash clutching the metal posts holding a billboard atop this roof.

"Are you joining the main event?" he asked, shifting away from the edge while trying to stay close to her.

Batgirl smirked at Kid Flash. It seemed like the runner wasn't comfortable around the high up and open air.

"I bet you Titans are excited," she commented.

"Are you kidding me? This is the first time we've been invited! Only friends of the Bat Clan can be invited!"

Thoughts of the 'Main Event', as it became known, made Batgirl smile.

* * *

Jason had started it. He had hated official gatherings and the only way Tim had been able to make him go was if they had their own afterwards. Damain had followed along a few times and it didn't take long for it to become something like a tradition.

* * *

And it wasn't that long ago that Dick had sought Damian out at events and looked up at him with his big blue eyes and asked when the main event was going to begin. Alfred had told Dick stories about it.

While Jason hated the official events, Dick just preferred what came after. Dick was content to let people watch him for a few hours while Bruce put on the 'Brucie' act. Originally, they had hung out at street vendors and places where Jason was comfortable. Damian had disliked it but Alfred had told him that it was good for him to see the ground level of the city he protected. Besides, Colin also started going.

Now, they held the Main Event in one of Damian's safe houses.

* * *

"Why is Jason here? He didn't go to the official event," Roy questioned as the dark haired eighteen year old walked in with Cass behind him. Both were in civilian clothes, Jason was even tugging at his jacket with an annoyed frown on his face.

"Hey, I was there. 'Course, some guys with guns blasted the place and the B-man ended up gettin' kidnapped but I was there. Tell 'im, Greenie."

Beast Boy's ears twitched as everyone turned to him.

"Uh. Yeah. He was there."

"I do not understand. Did the Red Hood not help? Should he not party with us?" Starfire asked.

Dick frowned, his blue eyes flicking to the bulky form of his older brother. Cass whispered something in Jason's ear and he smiled while he walked over to Dick.

"That is much too serious a face for Robin to have," Jason said, pinching Dick's cheeks and pulling.

"Ja'on!" Dick slurred as he pulled at his older brother's hands. "Yat hrrt!"

"And what kind of hero can't even stop his big brother from picking on him?" Jason asked with a smirk.

"Todd! Leave Grayson alone," Damian ordered, standing up. He ignored Colin's sigh from the seat next to him and glared at his second youngest brother.

"What? The leader of the Teen Titans can't-" Jason was cut off by a foot using his face as a foothold.

Dick had flipped up and twisted painfully out of his grip, kicking him in the face as he used it as a foothold.

"I said 'that hurts!'" he yelled, standing on tip toes so his eyes were level with Jason's.

Jason rubbed his check.

"That hurts? What about me?"

"Maybe you shouldn't go grabbing people!"

"Ice-cream's here!" Barbara called as she walked through the door. She was carrying two bags with two tubs in each.

"That's not going to be enough," Steph pointed out.

"Yeah well, any more and they probably would have called my parents. I got told that 'it gets better' and 'don't worry girl, the boy that hurt you will get his'." Barbara was frowning in annoyance. "Why was 'bad breakup' the first thing to come to their heads? Why not a party?"

"I'll take that," Jason said, taking a bag from her.

Tim gave her a smile as he took the other bag. They pulled out the tubs and bowls while Damian pulled out his little tray of toppings.

"Who decided on ice-cream anyway?" he muttered under his breath as he passed sprinkles to Colin.

"I think it was Steph," Colin responded.

"Don't you guys have a roster or something?" Wally questioned as he watched all the toppings come out. It was surprising that someone as uptight as Damian Wayne could have a cupboard filled with different kinds of nuts, sprinkles and flavoured toppings.

"Why would we have something like that?" Damian asked.

"I decided," Cass said, taking the wafer cones from Colin and moving back to where Steph was deciding the order of who would go first in their little makeshift ice-cream parlour.

* * *

The main four Teen Titans were watching their leader interact with his family. Dick seemed happy as he smiled and spoke about anything and everything. A conversation about villains in Gotham quickly turned to discussions about what to do about abandoned kittens and then to Damian's menagerie of animals.

"They are close," Starfire commented as the Bat Clan were standing together as they spoke.

"Similar circumstances brought them together," Colin said with a soft smile. He smiled at the teenagers. "I'm Father Colin Wilkes."

"Father? As in Church?" Raven questioned in surprise.

"In Gotham?" Beast Boy added, looking Colin up and down.

Colin chuckled.

"I'm tougher than I look," he said.

"That's for sure," Cyborg mused, recalling how the priest had managed to beef up during the fight at the Wayne Event.

* * *

"Babs."

Dick was smiling. Barbara was frowning.

"Three years," she stated, "and you left without a word." Dick didn't really have a response to that. He just shrugged in a 'what can you do about it' way. "It's not funny, Dick. Tim worried about you, Damian worked himself almost into the ground, like his father did. And I had no idea what was going on. None of your brothers would tell me. Steph had to piece it together for me."

"I had to leave," Dick said. "He fired me. We were fighting so often back then and I couldn't, wouldn't follow his orders."

"I thought you had ended up like Jason." Jason, who had also vanished. Only Jason's leaving had led to his death at the Joker's hands.

Jason was talking to Tim and tossing ice-cream at Roy, who was tossing toppings back.

* * *

"Didn't you get my messages?" Dick asked, confused. "And didn't we meet up a few times?"

Barbara gave him a flat look with narrowed eyes.

"Really?" she said, in that tone he had come to know to mean he was in trouble. It was usually followed by her calling him names. "You're an idiot, Dick Grayson, if you think I didn't worry about you. That I didn't miss you. And that I didn't fear the worst before that first email arrived."

She turned away and Dick felt a pang in his chest. Guilt.

"Babs! I'm sorry," he said quickly. Anything to avoid losing the girl who was his first best friend. "I didn't think about you, Damian, Cass or Tim when I left. I just wanted to fly free."

Barbara turned around. She glared at him for a few moments.

"Fine," she sighed, "I guess I can forgive you." She had forgiven him ages ago however, that night's events had brought back the hurt which hadn't healed. "Now, introduce me to the girl you kissed in Tokyo."

Dick sighed at the mention of the event he was certain was making the rounds in his family.

* * *

Starfire was surprised when Dick brought Barbara to meet her. The Girl of the Bats. Who giggled when she called her that and said it was a good name. There was a pang of something mean when she heard that Barbara and Dick had known each other for years but Barbara was nice and assured her that she and Dick were best friends; like Dick and Wally but Bats.

Beast Boy and Cyborg pulled Dick away for a competition of Battle Brothers 3, leaving Starfire and Barbara to talk. Cass joined them, although she listened more than talking and even Steph wheeled herself over.

* * *

Dick blinked.

"How?" he questioned, staring at the screen.

"I win," Damian announced with a smug grin in his direction.

"Aw, no man! Come on BB, we've got to avenge our fallen leader," Cyborg declared, picking up a controller and planting himself on the players' section of the couch.

"Yeah! We will crush you!" Beast Boy said, taking a control from Dick and planting himself beside Damian without a single hint of fear.

"You have no idea who you're talking to," Damian said, being dramatic without even trying.

"He thinks he scares us," Cyborg said, "but he don't scares us."

"No he don't," Beast Boy echoed.

Damian silently started a new game, intent on defeating his challengers.

* * *

Jason pulled Tim aside.

"When did the Demon Bat learn to play games?" he asked.

Tim turned away from the large TV and popped a piece of popcorn in his mouth.

"Colin taught him or something like that," he responded.

"Actually, I only mentioned a game in passing. Damian bought it for me and we played it together and then he started the collection he has now," Colin said as he moved around, putting away the ice-cream before it melted completely.

"Huh," Jason grunted in pleasant surprise.

"You going to have a go?" Tim asked Jason.

"Nah," Jason responded. He took a handful of popcorn. Tim glared and pulled the bowl away.

"Come on," Jason said, reaching for the bowl.

The twenty-one year old frowned. The eighteen year old stared and then snapped his hand out.

"Ah-hah!" Jason laughed, lording his second, smaller handful of popcorn over Tim.

A moment later, a piece of popcorn bounced off his forehead. Tim smirked and Jason smirked back.

"If that's the way you want to play," Jason said, trailing off as he readied himself for a popcorn battle.

* * *

Cass ducked as a piece of popcorn sailed over her head. Roy hollered as he tossed chocolate chips at Tim and Jason, managing to hold his own against two Bat Clan members. Even if they were a little distracted trying to get each other as well.

"Boys," Barbara grumbled as she pulled a piece of chocolate from her hair.

* * *

Harley was back in Arkham and all was well. Bruce sighed and let some tension go as hands ran over his shoulders.

"Should I apologise for my roommate's behaviour?" Selina purred as her arms travelled down and reached around to grab her drink from his hand.

Bruce turned to her and raised an eyebrow, his lip twitching in amusement. Selina purred back.

"Good. I wouldn't anyway. What Harley does is no concern of mine."

"Even when she kidnaps what you consider to be yours?" Bruce questioned, leaning back on the railing. The manor was blissfully empty, his children and their friends all away at that safe house Damian had and Bruce knew about.

"Hmm, I got my night out… or morning," Selina responded, noticing the light on the horizon, "with Gotham's number one playboy, Bruce Wayne."

"You would think that they'd eventually notice that I don't always sleep with the woman I'm out with," Bruce mused as he mirrored Selina's moves and sipped at the wine in his glass.

"You sure you don't want to be with the children?" Selina asked, "I noticed Dick was back."

"It's a Wayne Event night," Bruce informed her, without explaining what it meant. He may have shared some secrets with Selina but he wouldn't share his children's secrets. "I won't see them until midday, at the earliest."

Selina moved to sit down on the balcony and settled in to watch the sunrise. A few moments later, Bruce joined her.


	14. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the final chapter of this story. Thanks to everyone who has left kudos and comments.

**Part 14 – Home**

* * *

**Bat Clan Ages:**

Damian Wayne (Son of the Bat), 27

Colin Wilkes (Abuse), 25

Stephanie Brown (Oracle II), 21

Timothy Drake (Red Robin), 21

Jason Todd (Red Hood - Gotham; Red X - Jump City/Steel City), 18

Cassandra Cain (Black Bat), 18

Barbara Gordon (Batgirl III), 16

Dick Grayson (Robin), 16

* * *

When the sun started its decent from the sky, the Bat Clan and friends started to clean up.

Tim assigned jobs to everyone, to make sure that everything got done. Steph erased any footage recorded on phones or other devices and took the good ones for her digital library.

Her jackpot this year was a recording of Damian versing Tim in a round on  _Songstar_. She wondered the kind of favour she could get from B in return for that video.

Batgirl threw out and packed away the leftover food. Colin and Cass wiped down chairs and tables.

The Teen Titans were used to cleaning up. Raven washed the dishes while Starfire dried. Cyborg and Beast Boy ran around with Kid Flash, gathering up every little piece of rubbish they could. Robin cleaned up high and Speedy went around with the vacuum. They were quick an efficient.

Jason was nowhere to be found. Although the windows and window ledges had been cleaned.

* * *

Robin was wearing the dark uniform as he said goodbye to the Teen Titans. Kid Flash and Speedy were going back with the team. Speedy was going to meet up with his team, currently in Jump City and Kid Flash was going to stay in Jump City for a few days to keep the number of Teen Titans at five.

"But I don't know when I'll be back," Robin said with a sad smile when Kid Flash said he'd look after the team for a few days. "It could be a few weeks."

Kid Flash and Speedy shared a look that said they knew something Robin didn't.

"What?" Robin questioned, placing his hands on his hips and scowling.

"It's nothing," Kid Flash responded, "but you'll be back in few days. No sweat."

Robin's eyebrows knitted but he shrugged it off. He turned to his team and said his goodbyes.

"Have fun working with Batman, dude!" Beast Boy said, remembering what Damian had told him when he had heard the news.

"Be safe," Starfire said, giving Robin a squeezing hug as Barbara's words filtered through her mind.

"See you soon," Raven said. She didn't need any Bat Clan warnings as she could feel the emotions filtering through the building.

"Bring me back a souvenir," Cyborg commented as he remembered what Timothy had said.

* * *

To his credit, Robin had been able to last out case with Batman. Once the case had concluded and the culprit was in GCPD hands, Dick came down to the cave and announced that he was returning to Jump City and the Titans.

Bruce looked surprised but Oracle, who was having a video conference with him at the time, smiled.

She had listened to the orders Batman had barked out without a second thought and the grumbles Robin had made under his breath as he, sometimes, complied. Robin was used to doing his own thing, not following someone else's lead. He could do it, just not for long. And not with someone as demanding as Batman was.

Batman didn't relax, which meant there was no one to make Robin relax. Alfred tried but with Bruce around, Dick felt like he needed to be doing more.

Dick was trying to live up to the Robins who came before him.

If he hadn't announced that he was needed back at the Titans, Oracle knew that both Damian and Tim had plans to get him back there before Robin and Batman had another emotional fight.

Bruce was hurt but understanding. Dick promised to be in contact more.

"Good luck finding the Red Hood," Dick said, slipping onto his civilian bike and clipping his helmet in place.

"Hh," Bruce huffed. He didn't think he would see the Red Hood for a while. The evidence was pointing to Jason going underground for a while.

* * *

Titan Tower was a bright beacon with the sun high in the sky above it. Dick snuck in and found his way to Robin's room. He slipped in and stopped at the sight of an orange-skinned figure sleeping on his bed.

* * *

The Teen Titans had missed their leader.

Cyborg had been leader of the team with Raven as an advisor.

"They're really sure he's coming back?" Beast Boy asked, a little worried about Robin.

Kid Flash held up his civilian phone.

"Just got a text from Dick, he's on his way." He decided not to mention that he had been receiving texts for the past few days from and annoyed Dick complaining about Bruce.

At that moment, Starfire came flying in with the news that Robin had returned. A few moments later, Robin came walking in with his black and yellow cape fluttering behind him.

But, just as Robin was about to open his mouth, the alert went off.

"Red X is stealing from Wayne Tech!" Kid Flash reported as he brought up the information.

The dark figure of Red X was running through the building, looking for a way out while causing as much chaos as he could.

Everyone turned to Robin.

"Teen Titans, go!" he cried out, pointing dramatically.

"Race you!" Kid Flash said, disappearing out of the tower in a blur. Raven opened up a portal with her powers and Beast Boy shifted as Starfire's eyes lit up in green energy.

* * *

**Extra – Red X and Speedy**

* * *

There were no alarms. No warning. Speedy was walking down the hall when he spotted a streak of a black cape around a corner. He pulled out his bow and ducked around the corner, coming face to face with a skull-shaped white mask with eyes resembling a domino mask and an 'x' on the forehead.

"Red X!" Speedy realised, jumping back and pointing an arrow at the intruder.

"Oh dang," Red X said, not sounding surprised or concerned at all. "And I left all my ice cream at home."

Speedy blinked.

"What?"

"Just saying that the last time we fought, it involved food, not pointy objects," Red X commented with a shrug. Speedy got the odd feeling that the criminal was smiling under his mask.

For a moment, Speedy was baffled. He thought that it couldn't but, then he corrected himself.

Jason would certainly dress up in one of Dick's old suits; probably for the irony, and steal things; for the fun of it or something.

"Ja-" he started, only for a grey glove to cover his mouth and muffle his voice.

"Shh! Don't spoil the surprise," Red X said, pointing to the cameras.

The eyelets in Speedy's mask widened as he realised what Red X was saying.

_No real names in the field._

"Fine," he grumbled when Red X took his glove away. "Does Robin know about this?"

Red X tilted his head in an imitation of a raised, sceptical eyebrow.

"No duh, genius. Of course he figured it out. He's the little golden brat. Anyway, I wanted to know if you were up for an outing."

"An outing?" Speedy had a moment of surrealism as he realised that one of the Teen Titans' nemeses was in front of him, asking him to come with him.

"I've got word of some unsavoury characters doing some very unsavoury things in town tonight. Wanna come?"

"Crime fighting?" Speedy questioned with a smile. Okay, he could live with that. Besides, Jason was pretty cool. "I'm in."

* * *

Jason could have gone by himself, however, Steel City was a Titan City and he didn't want Red Hood known to the Teen Titans. But he didn't want Red X to have a reputation for stopping crime either.

So, he enlisted the assistance of a Teen Titan who knew the Bat Clan. Speedy; a.k.a. Roy Harper.


End file.
